ADHD is one of the most frequent developmental disorders in childhood. Adults also suffer from symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prevalence estimates of ADHD in adult community samples (5%) are based on American and West-European studies. Most of research though is concentrated on early ADHD symptoms. There are no sufficient data on clinical manifestation and scale of this problem in Poland.

To assess prevalence (life and 12-month), access to psychiatric care and other clinical and sociodemographic aspects of ADHD in adult population in Poland (both contemporary and retrospective). The first Polish nationwide survey, Epidemiology of Mental Disorders and Access to Care (EZOP, Poland)” was included in the WHO's WMH.

The aim of this paper is to present collected data on ADHD in community sample.

Composite International Diagnostic Interview (cidi capi v.3.1) was administered in random sample of Poles aged 18–65 (n = 10000). Data was collected from November 2010 to March 2011 by trained Millward Brown SMG/KRC interviewers.

Response rate is 50.4%. Prevalence estimated on the basis of retrospective reports in Screening Section is 2.2% for attention-deficit symptoms (2.5% for men and 1.9% for women) and 2.8% for hyperactivity symptoms (respectively 3.2% and 2.8%). Further analysis are in progress and detailed results will be known till December 2011.

Presented study will allow to introduce data on relation between intensity of early ADHD symptoms and it's later clinical manifestation. The identification of demographic factors influencing the course of the disorder and patterns of treatment will be possible.