People with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may recover faster from COVID-19, new Israeli research suggests.
Yuval Arbel, Chaim Fialkoff, Amichai Kerner and Miryam Kerner examined the relationship between infection, mortality and recovery rates from coronavirus and the prevalence of ADHD at the US statewide level.
Citing 2011 data regarding the prevalence of ADHD across the US by state, the researchers determined that there was no correlation between ADHD infection and mortality rates. However, they did discover that recovery rates rise with the prevalence of ADHD.
“States with the highest levels of ADHD recover better than states with lower prevalence of ADHD,” Arbel told The Jerusalem Post. “ADHD might provide an evolutionary advantage.”
ADHD often is “often talked about in negative terms,” he said, and some preliminary research about coronavirus and ADHD indicated that the condition may be a risk factor for contracting the virus.
“This is explained by the difficulties of those with ADHD to comply fully with recommendations to prevent infection from the virus,” according to the research paper, which was published earlier this month in the Journal of Attention Disorders.
In contrast, Arbel said ADHD could be seen as “something positive” in the battle against COVID-19. Individuals with the virus tend to be creative, have high energy levels and take risks – characteristics that may provide assistance in recovery, he said.
The concept would need to be taken further and studied more, Arbel said. However, if corroborated, coronavirus limitations in special education frameworks for ADHD might not be required or could be reduced.