University of Hong Kong joins overseas experts to form first global task force on ADHD

A Hong Kong university has collaborated with a global medical journal and overseas academics to create the first global task force to study the prevalence, impact, treatment hurdles and stigma associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The medical faculty at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) announced the launch of the Lancet Psychiatry Series on ADHD on Saturday, with the drive bringing together experts from Australia, Brazil, the United States and eight other countries.

Professor Patrick Ip Pak-keung, a co-chair of the task force and part of HKU’s paediatrics and adolescent medicine department, said it was the first time such an international effort had been mounted by the medical journal solely to study the condition, describing it as “a very significant and serious neurodevelopmental disorder”.

“The Lancet Psychiatry has entrusted several experts who are more experienced in this area to collaborate and form a team to discuss the development of the condition, its clinical diagnoses, and the effectiveness and safety of the treatments,” he said.

“We hope that through this collaboration, we can effectively look at the epidemiological trend of ADHD around the world and the impact of ADHD on our society, politics, economy and education.”

The academic said the team hoped its planned research series could inform people of the best treatment options for the condition and areas where potential improvements could be made.