Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with rising prevalence worldwide. Although alterations in the gut–brain axis have been implicated in its pathophysiology, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. An increase of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms is well documented in autism spectrum disorder, but the extent of GI involvement in ADHD has not yet been systematically evaluated.
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A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that cohorts with ADHD are 1.25 times more likely to be diagnosed with intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and peptic ulcers (Ng et al., 2025). This study represented a large study sample and encompassed a multi-national population, thus providing a highly generalisable body of evidence that further supports the hypothesis between altered gut microbiome and gastrointestinal issues. However, although the link between ADHD and intestinal diseases have been researched, there is still a lack of available evidence in current literature regarding the association of ADHD and GI symptoms. Therefore, to address this gap, the aim of this review is to be the first systematic review to determine whether there is an association between GI symptoms and a diagnosis of ADHD. The findings may provide greater insight into the potential link, providing an evidence-base for further research into underlying mechanisms and potential mitigation strategies.
article is open access (and from 2026)
I found this meta-analysis and the below ones linked in the sources of this article https://www.additudemag.com/encopresis-ibs-gi-symptoms-adhd/.
also see open access article from 2025 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-04303-x6
2024 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924977X24001585
2017 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0178187
As someone with ADHD, my gut feeling is that this is important research.
Yeah well you are also always full of shit, the only reason it doesn’t seem like it is any one unit of it spends little time in you.
Go on a liquid diet and you won’t have to deal with that kind of shit anymore.
I exist on a fully gaseous diet, can’t you tell from my output?
we all do :p
he he he
For me I get bored and just start snacking randomly. Wonder if that has anything to do with it…
Yep, I’d expect that the people who do weeks worth of meal planning and those that manage their diet carefully to ensure its balanced and varied, are groups unlikely to have a lot of overlap with the ~5% of the world that has ADHD.
that and lots of coffee i assume
