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A study of more than 187,000 U.S. adults aged 50 and older found that participants with ADHD were more likely to develop dementia or cognitive impairment than those without ADHD. The observational findings show an association, not proof that ADHD causes dementia; researchers also found higher risk among people with high genetic risk scores for ADHD.
A study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that adults with ADHD were more likely to develop dementia or other cognitive impairment later in life than adults without a recorded ADHD diagnosis. Published October 7 in JAMA Psychiatry, the analysis covered more than 187,000 U.S. adults aged 50 and older, but it does not establish that ADHD causes dementia.
Researchers analyzed health records and genetic information from participants in the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program. Among participants with ADHD, 6.7% developed dementia or cognitive impairment, compared with 3.4% of those without ADHD. After accounting for factors including age, sex and other health conditions, the team reported that people with ADHD had more than four times the risk of developing cognitive impairment over time.
The study also examined genetic risk scores, which estimate how strongly a person’s common genetic variants are associated with ADHD. Participants in the highest genetic-risk group had a 35% greater chance of developing dementia than those in the lowest group, whether or not they had a formal ADHD diagnosis. This result is an association and does not show that genetic risk for ADHD itself causes dementia.
Among participants who developed cognitive impairment, those also diagnosed with ADHD reported worse mental health, lower quality of life and less social satisfaction than those with cognitive impairment alone. They also used about 20% more health care in the year after diagnosis, according to the study report. The findings do not explain why these differences occurred.
ADHD and Cognitive Aging
The findings may help researchers identify factors associated with cognitive health in older adults and point to a group that could warrant closer study. They also suggest that the effects of cognitive impairment may differ for people who have ADHD, given the reported differences in quality of life and health care use.
However, these results do not mean that an individual with ADHD will develop dementia, or that ADHD treatment prevents it. The study reports group-level patterns in health records and genetic data; it does not provide a personal risk estimate or establish a cause. Its findings are most relevant as a basis for further research into cognitive aging and ADHD.
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How Researchers Tested the Link
The study combines two kinds of evidence: recorded ADHD diagnoses and dementia or cognitive impairment outcomes, and genetic scores associated with ADHD. The authors said finding a similar pattern across both sources increases their confidence that the association is not solely an artifact of how ADHD is diagnosed. The data came from a large U.S. health research program, allowing the team to examine medical records alongside genetic information in the same population.
The researchers also considered whether early dementia symptoms might sometimes be mistaken for ADHD before a cognitive diagnosis is made. According to the report, the association remained statistically significant when the team required at least eight years between an ADHD diagnosis and cognitive impairment. That analysis makes diagnostic confusion a less complete explanation, but it cannot rule out every source of bias or establish the direction of cause.
The findings build on earlier work from senior author Tharick A. Pascoal’s research group, including a 2022 study linking ADHD genetic risk with Alzheimer’s-related brain changes in older adults who were cognitively unimpaired. The 2026 paper, by Guilherme Bauer-Negrini and colleagues, was described as the largest study to date combining clinical diagnoses and genetic data in the same population.
“Two different kinds of evidence are pointing in the same direction.”
— Tharick A. Pascoal, senior author and associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Pittsburgh
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Cause and Prevention Remain Unknown
The study does not establish whether ADHD contributes to dementia risk, whether shared factors help explain both conditions, or whether other influences account for some of the association. Although the eight-year analysis makes it less likely that early dementia symptoms misdiagnosed as ADHD explain the entire result, it does not settle the question.
Researchers said it remains unclear whether ADHD medications, including stimulants, affect dementia risk over time. They also flagged cardiovascular health, which is linked to both ADHD and dementia, as an area for further study. The supplied report does not provide enough detail to assess all potential limitations, such as how representative the study participants are of the wider population or how diagnoses and outcomes were verified.
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Further Studies to Test Explanations
The next research questions are whether ADHD treatment or management of cardiovascular health changes later cognitive outcomes, and what mechanisms might account for the association. The study authors said that linking genetic information with years of health records could help investigate those possibilities. No prevention benefit or treatment effect has been established by this study.
The paper, titled “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Late-Life Cognitive Impairment,” was published in JAMA Psychiatry on October 7, 2026. Further studies will be needed to test whether the observed patterns hold in other populations and to clarify what, if anything, can be changed to support cognitive health.
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Key Questions
Does ADHD cause dementia?
No causal link was established. The study found an association between ADHD and later-life cognitive impairment, but it cannot show that ADHD causes dementia.
How many people were included in the study?
The researchers analyzed health records and genetic data from more than 187,000 adults aged 50 and older in the NIH All of Us Research Program.
What were the reported rates of cognitive impairment?
According to the study report, 6.7% of participants with ADHD developed dementia or cognitive impairment, compared with 3.4% of participants without ADHD. These are results for the study groups, not an individual prediction.
Do ADHD medications reduce dementia risk?
The study did not answer that question. Researchers said whether ADHD medications, including stimulants, affect dementia risk over time remains unclear.
What did the genetic-risk analysis find?
Participants with the highest genetic risk scores for ADHD had a 35% greater chance of developing dementia than those with the lowest scores. This is an association and does not prove that ADHD-related genes cause dementia.
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