To investigate the accuracy of the age-at-onset criterion in those who meet other DSM-5 criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, using a prospective population cohort we compared four different approaches to asking those aged 25 years (n = 138) when their symptoms started. Receiver operating characteristic curves showed variation between the approaches (χ(3) = 8.99, P = 0.03); all four showed low discrimination against symptoms that had been assessed when they were children (area under the curve: 0.57–0.68). Asking adults to recall specific symptoms may be preferable to recalling at what age symptoms started. However, limitations to retrospective recall add to debate on the validity of ADHD age-at-onset assessment.

为了调查符合 DSM-5 其他注意力缺陷多动障碍标准的人的发病年龄标准的准确性，我们使用前瞻性人群队列比较了四种不同的方法来询问 25 岁（n = 138）的人何时他们的症状开始了。受试者工作特征曲线显示不同方法之间存在差异（χ (3) = 8.99，P = 0.03）；所有四人都对儿童时评估的症状表现出低歧视（曲线下面积：0.57-0.68）。要求成年人回忆特定症状可能比回忆症状开始的年龄更可取。然而，回顾性回忆的局限性增加了关于 ADHD 发病年龄评估有效性的争论。