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20/04/2021 - 12:36

Improving treatment for ADHD patients with cardiometabolic diseases

Improving treatment for ADHD patients with cardiometabolic diseases - Available at University of Iceland

The Centre of Public Health Sciences at the University of Iceland participates in an international collaborative research project with the objective of advancing the management of adults with ADHD, who also suffer from cardiometabolic disease, by improving available treatments and risk stratification. 

The project, TIMESPAN, is a 5-year-long collaborative research project that has received 5.9 million Euros in grants, or almost 900 million Icelandic krona, from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.  The project involves 17 partner institutions on four continents, Europe, North-America, Asia and Oceania.

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,  is considered to affect between 2-5% of adults. Emerging evidence suggests there is a strong association and shared genetic traits between adult ADHD and cardiometabolic diseases.  However, knowledge about appropriate management of cardiometabolic disease in ADHD is lacking.  

The project, TIMESPAN, is a 5-year-long collaborative research project that has received 5.9 million Euros in grants, or almost 900 million Icelandic krona, from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.  The project involves 17 partner institutions on four continents, Europe, North-America, Asia and Oceania.

The main objective of the TIMESPAN project is to change this and lay a foundation of medical treatment best suited for this group of patients. TIMESPAN will utilize existing large-scale cohort studies and linked electronic health record databases in multiple countries. Novel real-time measures of ADHD using apps and smart watches will be used to monitor the participants' health during the study and to encourage them to the  medication treatment. 

TIMESPAN is expected to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life in adult ADHD patients with co-occurring cardiometabolic diseases, and furthermore facilitate the development of new technologies. 

TIMESPAN is led by Dr. Henrik Larsson, University of Örebro, but the TIMESPAN project leader Iceland is Dr. Unnur Valdimarsdóttir, professor of public health sciences at the University of Iceland's Faculty of Medicine.

Further information on the project can be found on its website.