In 2023, the Head Heart Hormones (H3) Network was founded by prof. dr. Sandra Kooij and colleagues. Recently, the H3 network received a grant from ZonMw (Nationaal Plan Hoofdzaken) for the implementation of knowledge on this subject in all provinces in the Netherlands. With this grant, the H3 Network aims to share knowledge from psychiatry, gynaecology, and cardiology with all disciplines and general practitioners. Striving for better integration of care for women with psychiatric complaints, including ADHD.

Sandra Kooij, psychiatrist and professor of adult ADHD at Amsterdam UMC, is co-founder of the H3 network . Kooij founded the network together with Janneke Wittekoek, cardiologist at Heartlife Clinics, and Dorenda van Dijken, gynaecologist at OLVG. At their outpatient clinics, they noticed that women with the same symptoms were being seen, particularly during perimenopause. After screening 300 women at the Heartlife Clinic for ADHD, it was found that 35% reported lifelong ADHD symptoms. And at the OLVG’s complicated menopause clinic, these symptoms were reported by 25%. The diagnosis was confirmed in a study of a subgroup. Until then, it was unknown that women with ADHD were so often referred to cardiologists.

Previous research had revealed a link between women with ADHD and complicated menopause. This was the reason for starting the H3 network. The aim of this network is to improve the organisation of integrated care for women in the Netherlands through collaboration between professionals from all three domains (head, heart, hormones) and general practitioners.

“Sharing knowledge on the interaction between the head, heart, and hormones in women, and interdisciplinary collaboration in the H3 network is taking women’s healthcare to a higher level of integration in all provinces!” – prof. dr. Sandra Kooij

Regional H3 networks

Thanks to the ZonMw grant, the implementation of regional H3 networks in all provinces can become reality by the end of 2025. Three regional H3 networks were already established earlier this year, and two more were added this summer.

The regional H3 networks will improve care for women with complex (menopausal) symptoms through collaboration, training, and integration of knowledge about psychiatry, cardiology, and gynaecology throughout the Netherlands. Read more about the regional H3 project on our website.

Research has shown that it is not only women with ADHD who experience more symptoms during (peri-)menopause. Women with other psychiatric disorders also experience more symptoms during periods of hormonal change. For this reason, the H3 network will expand to include psychiatrists specialising in mood disorders, autism, and personality disorders, as well as other medical specialists, such as rheumatologists, orthopaedists, endocrinologists, and others.

More information on Nationaal Plan Hoofdzaken can be found on the website of ZonMw.

More information on the project and grant (in Dutch) can be found on the website of ZonMw.