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    Topic cluster

    ADHD in women

    Diagnosed late, if at all, and usually after years of being treated for anxiety instead. Everything we publish on female-presenting ADHD.

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    Common questions

    Why is ADHD missed in women?
    Diagnostic criteria were built on studies of hyperactive boys. Inattentive and emotionally dysregulated presentations, combined with effective masking, mean the pattern is often read as anxiety or perfectionism instead.
    Why does it get worse in perimenopause?
    Falling oestrogen reduces dopamine availability, which is the system ADHD medication targets. Strategies that worked for decades can stop working in the space of a year or two.

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