{"id":1116,"date":"2026-05-14T13:20:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/bbc-sciencefocus\/?p=1116"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:20:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:20:51","slug":"why-adhd-and-high-cholesterol-are-more-connected-than-anyone-realised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/bbc-sciencefocus\/2026\/05\/14\/why-adhd-and-high-cholesterol-are-more-connected-than-anyone-realised\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ADHD and high cholesterol are more connected than anyone realised"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Health<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why ADHD and high cholesterol are more connected than anyone realised<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

People with ADHD should keep a careful eye on their heart health, though the reasons why are unclear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Ian Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"An
Photo credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When we think about ADHD, we tend to think of distraction, restlessness, short productivity and missed deadlines. It\u2019s a condition of the brain, so we assume its impact lies squarely in cognition, behaviour and emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To an extent that\u2019s true, but emerging research suggests that ADHD may also help to shape something more physical: our cholesterol levels, blood pressure and long-term heart health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show that people with ADHD are more likely to have unfavourable cholesterol levels, alongside higher rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A landmark paper<\/a> published in 2022 found ADHD is an independent risk factor for a wide range of cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research, based on population data from more than 5 million people in Sweden, found that people with ADHD are twice as likely as others to develop metabolic issues. Cardiac arrest, haemorrhagic stroke and arteriosclerosis are the most likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers partly explained this by showing that other risk factors, like smoking, obesity, diabetes and lower educational attainment are all more common in people with ADHD. But even after controlling for these factors, cardiovascular disease was still more prevalent in the ADHD population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings track with other data<\/a> from University College London, published this year. There, researchers found people with high ADHD traits in childhood are more likely to have health impacts in middle age and later life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve tended to find is that people with ADHD unfortunately die younger and have more physical health problems when they\u2019re older,\u201d says Prof Joshua Stott, author of the UCL paper. \u201cWe found that having a diagnosis of ADHD was associated with about seven years\u2019 reduced life expectancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s less clear is the reason for that. A working hypothesis is that people with ADHD are exposed to environments that are likely to increase cardiovascular risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The growing file of evidence suggests there are certainly behavioural disadvantages associated with ADHD and long-term health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there could also be profound genetic links between the condition and cardiovascular risk. Scientists are now asking how biology and behaviour may influence both ADHD and the complicated ways our bodies regulate fat and energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brain-heart connection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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ADHD is closely tied to heart health, apparently influencing not only how people behave but their biology and genetics, too. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At first glance, the relationship between ADHD and heart health might seem like a simple story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with the condition can often be poor meal planners who eat impulsively. Many follow irregular routines and struggle with poor sleep. They\u2019re more likely to smoke. They\u2019re more likely to binge eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those factors combined are a recipe for high cholesterol, weight gain and other metabolic issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Prof Stephen Faraone, an ADHD researcher from the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, people with ADHD struggle with \u2018executive functions\u2019 \u2013 the cognitive processes that help set and carry out goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need all those brain functions to plan and to organise our life,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen parents are handling food for children with ADHD, that\u2019s one thing,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when you\u2019re an adult and you\u2019re handling your own diet, it can be a big problem. If you don\u2019t plan your meals, you\u2019re going to eat out and often that\u2019s not a good meal because you\u2019re not planning it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The link between ADHD and metabolic markers like cholesterol is not straightforward, however. It\u2019s not simply the case that the traits of ADHD lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Genetics, neuroscience, medication and early development all play a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of pieces to this puzzle,\u201d Faraone says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cholesterol question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A number of studies have shown that high cholesterol is more common amongst people with ADHD. In China, for example, researchers<\/a> found that obese children with high LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) were more likely to have ADHD. In Turkey, researchers<\/a> found similar findings in non-obese children too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would help to explain the long-term cardiovascular outcomes in people with ADHD because high levels of LDL cholesterol or an imbalance between LDL and HDL (the good kind) are both associated with heart risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

High levels of LDL help cause the build-up of plaques in our arteries while low HDL levels reduce the removal of those same plaques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Artery
Excess cholesterol builds up on the walls of arteries, eventually blocking the flow of blood. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other research pokes holes in this theory, however. Studies in both children<\/a> and adolescents<\/a> with ADHD have found that they actually have lower LDL cholesterol than control groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s additionally interesting is that some of the drugs, particularly the stimulant drugs, that treat ADHD, also can lower cholesterol levels,\u201d Faraone says. Could it be possible that cholesterol is higher in untreated ADHD than treated ADHD?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, we don\u2019t have that data but there are other interesting clues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another theory on the link between cholesterol and ADHD comes from research suggesting a generational effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies<\/a> have shown that a mother\u2019s cholesterol levels during pregnancy might affect the neurodevelopment of her children. Specifically, researchers found that low levels of HDL correlate with an increased risk of ADHD in the offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this too is a complicated picture, says Faraone. \u201cWe have a big problem in the field with studies of these environmental exposures,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor example, I thought for years that maternal smoking increased the risk for ADHD \u2013 that it might have a causal effect. The association is real. It\u2019s been documented in meta-analyses many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it turns out that if you control for ADHD genetics, the association goes away. And the reason is, mothers with ADHD are more likely to smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the researchers once thought was a consequence of smoking was, in reality, just a genetic trait being handed down from mother to child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s possible that the same thing is going on with maternal cholesterol. Again, we\u2019re lacking the data, but it\u2019s certainly true that the genetics of ADHD and metabolic disease share some common ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overlapping genetics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ADHD itself is thought to be as much as 80 per cent hereditary. Given that genetics account for so much of an individual\u2019s likelihood of having these traits, it makes sense that those genetics may also influence the risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, the same team of Swedish researchers who identified ADHD as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease went looking for genetic clues that might explain the link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They found a lot of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than a single gene that causes ADHD and also puts people at risk of metabolic issues, what they found<\/a> was a tangle of overlapping gene variants affecting health outcomes like obesity and diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The genetics of obesity and ADHD appear to overlap, but it\u2019s a complicated story to unravel. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other research<\/a> has also found evidence, albeit slightly weaker, linking the genetics of ADHD with other markers, including cholesterol and body mass index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers concluded that people genetically predisposed to ADHD had a small but significant increase in their risk of heart health problems in adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This genetic detective work is about more than filling in the gaps in our textbooks, though. It goes some way to explain not just the biology linking ADHD and metabolic issues but also the behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, both ADHD and obesity are associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine, which controls reward and motivation in the brain. People with ADHD have dopamine-deficient brains and so seek out stimulating activities that will release more. Overeating is one such activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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