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ATLANTA, May 23, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- People who suffer from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder lose an estimated $77 billion in income a year, a U.S. researcher said Monday.
Joseph Biederman, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School, said the affliction, known as ADHD, is a lifelong disorder that "may be one of the costliest medical conditions in the United States."
ADHD costs the average sufferer $8,900 to $15,400 in lost income a year -- even when his or her lower educational achievement is not factored in.
"Evaluating, diagnosing and treating this condition may not only improve the quality of life, but may save adults with ADHD billions of dollars every year," Biederman told a meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Atlanta.
More than 8 million adults in the United States -- or 4.3 percent of working-age adults -- struggle with the inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity of ADHD, he said.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
