Background Treatment options for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults consist of psycho-education, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapy or a combination thereof.
Aim To investigate the effect of CBT combined with pharmacotherapy on the quality of life in adults with ADHD compared to medication alone.
Method In this multicenter prospective cohort study a total of 627 patients were included, 305 where included in the medication only group and 322 in de combination group (CBT and medication). The Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life scale (AAQoL) was conducted at baseline and at the end of treatment.
Results The quality of life as measured by the AAQoL increased significantly in both groups but was not significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.33).
Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the effect of CBT as an addition to ADHD drug therapy on the quality of life in adults. Contrary to our expectations, there was no significant effect of CBT as an addition to drug therapy on the quality of life.