Sustainable labour market participation among working young adults with diagnosed attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Authors:

Helgesson, Magnus, Kjeldgard, Linnea, Björkenstam, Emma, Rahman, Syed, Gustafsson, Klas, Taipale, Heidi, Tanskanen, Antti, Ekselius, Lisa, Mittendorfer-Rutz, Ellenor + 4

Publisher:

Uppsala universitet, Arbets- och miljömedicin, Uppsala universitet, Jämlik hälsa och arbetsliv, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för medicinska vetenskaper, Uppsala universitet, WoMHeR (Centre for Women’s Mental Health during the Reproductive Lifespan), Karolinska Inst, Dept Clin Neurosci, Div Insurance Med, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden., Karolinska Inst, Dept Clin Neurosci, Div Insurance Med, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden.;Niuvanniemi Hosp, Kuopio, Finland.;Univ Eastern Finland, Sch Pharm, Kuopio, Finland., Karolinska Inst, Dept Clin Neurosci, Div Insurance Med, SE-17177 Stockholm, Sweden.;Niuvanniemi Hosp, Kuopio, Finland., Elsevier BV, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Health Equity and Working Life, Uppsala University, Sweden, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Sweden, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; School of Pharmacy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Sweden, Elsevier + 14

Abstract

Background: The aims were to study the sustainability of labour-market participation five years after an incident diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among young adults with gainful employment, and to examine the impact of sociodemographic-, work-and health-related factors on these findings. Methods: Swedish registers identified 2517 individuals, 19-29 years old, with an incident diagnosis of ADHD and gainful employment during 2006-2011. Labour-market participation was measured by the core-peripheral model, a model that measures the connection to the labour market from a weak connection (peripheral) to a strong connection (core). Sequence analysis analysed clusters of labour-market participation, from one year before and up to five years after diagnosis. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between soci-odemographic factors, comorbid disorders, and the identified clusters were analysed by multinomial logistic regression. Results: Five clusters of labour-market participation were identified: 60% of individuals belonged to a cluster that maintained labour-market participation throughout the study period (core, close to core); 20% belonged to a cluster with a transition to a weak connection to the labour market (close to peripheral, peripheral); and 20% belonged to a cluster with "middle" labour-market participation, characterised by having long periods of sick leave and unemployment. Individuals with elementary school as highest attained education (OR:4.03; CI:2.35-6.93), comorbid mental disorders (OR:2.77;CI:2.10-3.66), or living in villages/small cities (OR:1.77; CI:1.25-2.51) were most likely to belong to a cluster transitioning towards a "peripheral" labour-market participation. Men were less likely to have peripheral labour-market participation than women (OR:0.55; CI:0.40-0.75). Conclusions: Over half of working individuals with ADHD maintain a strong attachment to the labour market several years after their first diagnosis of ADHD. Therefore, it is important to target ...