Shire unveils powerful spoken word video to raise awareness of some of the issues many adults with ADHD face

https://youtu.be/sx11gbYMRFs

Spoken word performer communicates plight of adults with ADHD who remain overlooked and unsupported.

ZUG, 25-Oct-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — To mark ADHD Awareness Month, Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) has today launched a powerful spoken word video to communicate the challenges many adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) face in seeking accurate diagnosis and appropriate support.

Once thought of as a childhood problem, ADHD persists into adulthood in 50-66% of people diagnosed as a child ^2,3,4,5 and affects around one in 30 (3.4%) adults worldwide.¹ While many adults with ADHD lead happy and successful lives, ADHD can have a profound impact and has been linked to educational and occupational underachievement, poor quality of life, and difficulty in interpersonal, family and romantic relationships.^6,7

“Some adults with ADHD suffer social stigma, delayed diagnosis or a lack of clear transition between adolescent and adult services,” said Tom Croce, Head of Global Patient Advocacy at Shire. “While every person with ADHD is an individual, with unique symptoms and needs, we hope this video will help to raise awareness of some of the issues many adults with ADHD face, so they can be provided with the support they need to take full control of their personal and professional lives.”

The video, entitled ‘The Truth’ is available to view on YouTube.

In a parallel initiative, ADHD Europe recently published an article about the shortage of transitional services for young adults, and a declaration stating the changes that need to be made to address this. Both can be found on www.adhdeurope.eu.

As a global leader in the development of medicines for treating ADHD, Shire is committed to working in partnership with healthcare professionals, health systems, patient advocacy organisations and other stakeholders to help people with ADHD, across all stages of life, tell their stories, and to help establish long-term solutions to improve the understanding, diagnosis and management of this life-altering condition.

About ADHD
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder in children and adolescents^8,9,10 and is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).¹¹ Worldwide prevalence of ADHD is estimated to be between 5.29% and 7.1%, and just under 5% in Europe for children and adolescents (<18 years)^8,9 and 3.4% (range 1.0-7.3%) for adults aged 18-44.¹

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About Shire
Shire enables people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives.

Our strategy is to focus on developing and marketing innovative specialty medicines to meet significant unmet patient needs.

We focus on providing treatments in Rare Diseases, Neuroscience, Gastrointestinal and Internal Medicine and we are developing treatments for symptomatic conditions treated by specialist physicians in other targeted therapeutic areas, such as Ophthalmics.

www.shire.com

References

¹ Fayyad J et al. Cross-national prevalence and correlates of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Br J Psychiatry 2007; 190:402-409.

² Lara C, et al. Childhood Predictors of Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Results From The World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Biological Psychiatry 2009; 65:46-54.

³ Faraone SV, et al. The Age-Dependent Decline of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Follow-Up Studies. Psychological Medicine 2006; 36:159-165.

⁴ Barklay RA, et al. The Persistence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder into Young Adulthood as A Function of Reporting Source and Definition of Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 2002; 111:279-289.

⁵ Ebejer JL, et al. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Australian Adults: Prevalence, Persistence, Conduct Problems and Disadvantage. PLoS One 2012; 7:e47404.

⁶ Biederman J, et al. Functional Impairments in Adults with Self-Reports of Diagnosed ADHD: A Controlled Study of 1001 Adults in The Community. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2006; 67:524-540.

⁷ Gudjonsson GH, et al. The Relationship Between Satisfaction With Life, ADHD Symptoms, And Associated Problems Among University Students. Journal of Attention Disorders 2009;12:507-515.

⁸ Polanczyk G, et al. The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis. Am J Psych.2007;164:942–948.

⁹ Willcutt EG. The prevalence of DSM-IV attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review. Neurotherapeutics.2012; 9: 490-499.

¹⁰ American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Available at https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm/dsm-5 [Last accessed October 2016].

¹¹ International Classification of Diseases, 10th ed., (ICD-10). World Health Organization 2007:Chapter 5,F90. http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2010/en#/F90-F98. [Last accessed September 2016].

SOURCE: Shire