Psychiatr. Pol. 2018; 52(2): 287–307 PL ISSN 0033-2674 (PRINT), ISSN 2391-5854 (ONLINE) www.psychiatriapolska.pl DOI: https://doi.org/10.12740/PP/67111 ADHD – the scourge of the 21 st century? Rima Gaidamowicz 1 , Aušra Deksnytė 2,3 , Karolina Palinauskaitė 3 , Ramūnas Aranauskas 2,3 , Vytautas Kasiulevičius 1,5 , Virginijus Šapoka 1,5 , Lukas Aranauskas 4 1 Clinic of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania 2 Clinic of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania 3 Nordland Hospital, 8092 Bodø, Norway 4 Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania 5 Vilnius University Hospital Santariskiu klinikos, Lithuania Summary Currently, attention defcit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is intensively studied by world medical community, its understanding expands, for example, it has now been diagnosed not only in children but also in adults. On the other hand, ADHD raises a number of discussions on the need of its treatment and, if there is a need, how it shall be treated, it is doubtful whether this disorder overall exists, because its “morphological component” has not been identifed so far, and all the symptoms of ADHD, including anxiety, concentration difculties, motor hyperactivity, cognitive disorders or social disadaptation, can be found in a number of mental disorders and somatic diseases. Modern attention, emotional and behavioral changes can be considered as a result of changing human social portrait. Those who question ADHD existence argue that this disorder is likely temperament and parenting matter, rather than the illness, and that the diagnosis and treatment of this illness can be a matter invented by doctors and pharmacists, the aim of which is to tame individuals disregarding public standards of conduct and get the maximum proft from medicines in the treatment of this illness. Due to the fact that ADHD is diagnosed more often, it is even called the twenty-frst-century scourge. In this article we will review the historical aspect of formation of ADHD diagnosis, illness etiology, comorbidity with other mental and somatic diseases as well as treatment necessity and op- portunities, paying attention to adult ADHD as well. Key words: attention defcit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD