3.1.6. ADHD Assessment and Medication

ADHD was assessed through clinical interviews (including semi-structured interviews) in 21 studies (51.2%), and through self-administered questionnaires in 20 studies (48.8%).

For children and adolescents, the main assessment tool for ADHD was the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS; 26.3% of the 19 studies conducted with children or adolescents) and the ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS; 15.8%). For adults, ADHD was mainly assessed with DSM-IV or DSM5 semi-structured interviews using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), the Diagnostisch Interview Voor ADHD bij volwassenen (DIVA 2.0), or the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID). The main self-administered questionnaire was the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS; 41.7% of the 24 studies conducted with adults). It should be noted that some studies used the ASRS, a screening scale, as a diagnostic tool.

Fifty-four percent of the studies with adults included a retrospective assessment of childhood ADHD symptoms (*n* = 13), included in the diagnostic tool or additionally reported mainly through the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) (*n* = 3).

Despite the known influence of ADHD pharmacological treatment on eating behavior [103], only 10 studies specified the ADHD medication status (25.6%). Three of them were conducted in medication-naïve populations, the remainder reported the rate of ADHD participants on medication.
