The Adult Brain That Was Never Assessed
A 2020 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Attention Disorders estimated that roughly 2.5 to 3% of adults globally meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD, yet the vast majority remain undiagnosed. In India, that gap is wider. The disorder has historically been framed as a childhood problem, something boys outgrow or manage through discipline, so adult presentations rarely prompt a clinical referral. What a psychiatrist in Mumbai or Bengaluru sees instead is a 34-year-old referred for anxiety, or a 40-year-old whose marriage is under strain because she cannot finish what she starts.
