PRESS RELEASE : ADHD symptoms may be associated with risky sexual behaviour among students

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The study on young people’s health carried out by our BPH HEALTHY team was the subject of a national press release by Inserm, which was widely reported in the media.

This large-scale study conducted by Cédric Galéra and his team among approximately 13,000 students in France examined the link between attention, impulsivity and sexuality. It opens up concrete pathways for adapting sexual health prevention measures in universities.

The study was conducted by several of our researchers at the BPH, including Charline Galesne, Mélissa Macalli, Sherazade Kinouani, Noelia Retuerto, and Christophe Tzourio, in collaboration with the Charles Perrens Hospital Centre, using data from the i-Share student cohort.

The i-Share student cohort

i-Share is a large-scale French study on student health. It was launched over 10 years ago at the BPH, led by the University of Bordeaux in partnership with the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) and Inserm, with Professor Christophe Tzourio as principal investigator.

Today more than 20,000 students from over 80 universities in France have participated in the study, with regular follow-ups via questionnaires covering physical and mental health, living conditions, behaviours, family history, etc. Although i-Share ended in 2020, researchers continue to analyse the data and publish results, particularly on mental health.

i-Share data has already revealed several major issues

i-Share has already generated dozens of scientific articles on a variety of topics such as ADHD, alcohol and tobacco consumption, neuroimaging, sleep, depression, etc.

On students’ mental health :
The i-Share study documented a range of mental health issues among students, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, psychoactive substance use and a history of adverse events during childhood. Notably, 21% of students report suicidal thoughts, and approximately 6% have attempted suicide at some point in their lives

On access to care:
Many students reported foregoing care for financial reasons

On health behaviours:

Risk and protective factors (diet, exercise, alcohol and tobacco use) were identified in order to modify health behaviours.

Finally, a biobank containing brain MRIs of 2,000 students offers prospects for biomedical research to measure certain mechanisms of brain development, maturation and ageing in detail and sometimes at an early stage, and to identify the factors that can modify them.

The study of ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity) and sexual practices

Here, the i-Share data analysed concerns more than 13,000 students, aged 20 on average, who completed online questionnaires about their ADHD symptoms and sexual behaviour.
The type of data collected: online questionnaires on ADHD symptoms and sexual practices cover condom use, age of first sexual intercourse, number of partners, presence of STIs, contraception, abortion, etc.

Researchers observed that students with high levels of ADHD symptoms, approximately 5 out of 100 students, were more likely to engage in riskier sexual behaviour (forgetting to use condoms, multiple partners, early age of first sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted infections).
Among female students, these difficulties were also linked to less use of contraception, more emergency contraception, and more voluntary terminations of pregnancy.

Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD)

Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in particular through difficulties in staying focused, high impulsivity or significant restlessness. It can have a significant impact on the daily, academic or social lives of those affected. Often underdiagnosed, ADHD is associated with an increase in risky behaviours.

Why explore the link between ADHD symptoms and risky sexual behaviour among French students? Because this period corresponds to the onset of sexual activity and an increased period of risk-taking. Preventive and educational measures during this period are fundamental to long-term development.

i-Share has provided a unique overview of student health and highlighted students’ mental health vulnerabilities.

Since 2022, the PRISME study, also led by the BPH and Professor Christophe Tzourio, has been launched to study the health of Bordeaux students at the start of their studies, with a reinforced interventional approach, in collaboration with the Student Health Centre. PRISME draws on the methods and expertise developed in i-Share, particularly for the assessment of mental health and the implementation of preventive interventions.

Both projects are grouped together within the Student Health Lab, a platform that brings together all of the team’s research on student health.

En savoir plus :

Look at the Inserm press release published on 11 January 2026, which attracted significant media coverage, with articles in the medical and general press

Link to interviews radio et presse