Apr 15, 2015 01:01 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

New research suggests that adults who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are much more likely to report they were sexually and physically abused before they turned 16 than their peers without ADHD.

Researchers at the University of Toronto found that among women, 34 percent of those with ADHD reported they were sexually abused before they turned 18. In contrast, 14 percent of women without ADHD reported that they had experienced childhood sexual abuse. Twice as many women with ADHD reported that they had experienced childhood physical abuse than women without this condition (44 vs 21 percent.)

"These findings suggest there is a silent epidemic of abuse among people and particularly women with ADHD," Esme Fuller-Thomson, coauthor of the study, said in a statement.

Fuller-Thomson's research also noted that a greater percentage of men with ADHD than men without ADHD reported that they were sexually abused or physically abused during their childhood.

For the study, researchers examined a nationally representative sample of 12,877 women and 10,496 men in the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health.

Fuller-Thomson emphasized that the data cannot clarify the direction of the association

"It may be that early maltreatment affects neurobiological development," Fuller-Thomson said. "It is also possible that children with ADHD are more vulnerable to abuse."

The findings are detailed in the journal Child Abuse 7 Neglect.

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