Annika Hofstedt ^1,2* Anna Söderpalm Gordh ^1,2

• ¹ Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Västergötland, Sweden
• ² Department of Addiction and Dependency, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden

Background: Previous research suggests age dependent differences in the progression of addiction and evidence is accumulating showing that an early initiation of gaming increases the risk for addiction. With the recent introduction of gaming disorder (GD) as a psychiatric diagnosis there is a need to extend the knowledge of clinical characteristics of patients seeking treatment for GD, of all age groups. Compared to adolescents and young adults, less is known about treatment seeking adults. This study aimed to investigate whether there are clinically relevant age dependent differences among patients seeking treatment for GD. Method: Participants were recruited among patients seeking treatment and fulfilling diagnosis for GD at an outpatient clinic specialized in the treatment of GD. During the study period, 142 patients went through assessment for GD at the clinic, 37 did not fulfill diagnosis for GD and 36 declined participation leaving a sample of 69 patients (age range = 15-56) for analysis. The sample (men n=66; women n= 3) was divided in two age groups: adolescents and young adults (25 years or younger) and adults (26 years or older). Gaming related data and information about psychiatric co-morbidity was collected through structured clinical interviews and questionnaires. Results: We found that the adolescents and young adults (AYAs) reported a faster progression into problematic gaming than the adults did. We also observed comparable clinical profiles in both groups. Both age groups had similar levels of GD as well as symptoms of psychiatric co-morbidities including possible attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and problematic gambling. We also noticed that half of our study population consisted of adults. Conclusion: With the increasing prevalence of gaming in all age groups it is unknown how the occurrence of GD will develop in different stages of life. We conclude that the adolescents and young adults had almost double as fast progression to problematic gaming than the adult group, highlighting the need for preventive strategies. The similarity in clinical profiles indicates that treatments with the same type of interventions could be offered to both age groups.