Survey on centres and procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD in public services in Italy

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often persists into adulthood. Although its persistence and relative high preva-lence, ADHD in adults is often underdiagnosed and undertreated in Italy, leading to poor clinical and functional outcomes, and higher costsof illness. The aims of the study were to identify the Italian mental health services for ADHD in adults, describe the diagnostic and treatmentprocedures they follow, and compare this offer with the recommendations of the German and English guidelines. The centres, that adopt aclinical and assessment protocol for adult ADHD diagnosis (carried out by specifically trained personnel) and prescribe pharmacologicaltreatment for adult ADHD, were selected from the list of accredited services provided by the Appendix B.2 of the ISTISAN 16/37 Reportsof the ISS. An ad-hoc survey including open-ended and close-ended questions was sent to each selected centre in February 2020. The over-all picture resulting from the data analysis was compared with the recommendations of the German and English guidelines. The present sur-vey shows that only a few centres are specialised in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in adults in Italy. Furthermore, there are no na-tional guidelines for adult ADHD in Italy. The collected data also suggest that there is no a unified practice shared by the Centres both forthe patient’s transition from child and adolescent to adult mental health services and for the diagnostic-therapeutic process. It is thereforecrucial to create specific protocols and develop national guidelines to better identify and diagnose ADHD in adults and provide targeted andmore efficient multimodal treatments.