ADD/ADHD News

Results of a population-based cohort study that included more than 1 million school-age children in the United Kingdom suggested that the youngest children in a school class were around 1.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD compared with the oldest children. Researchers also noted that these children were 1.3 times more likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability and depression.

Findings from a large genome-wide association study indicated that genetic liability of psychotic experiences may be shared with several psychiatric disorders in addition to schizophrenia, including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Children born to mothers with anxiety during pregnancy and a few years after birth were more likely to have hyperactivity when they were 16 years old, according to study findings presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.

Maternal anemia in early pregnancy appeared to be linked to greater risk for autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and intellectual disability among offspring, findings published in JAMA Psychiatry revealed.

Prenatal exposure to acetaminophen was linked to an increased risk for ADHD in offspring, according to a nationwide study in Taiwan published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Individuals whose childhood ADHD persists into adulthood appear to be at increased risk for motor vehicle crashes, according to data published in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Offspring born via cesarean delivery were at increased risk for autism spectrum disorder and ADHD compared with those born by vaginal delivery, findings published in JAMA Network Open revealed.

Methylphenidate — a drug used to treat ADHD — may affect specific tracts in brain white matter in boys with the disorder, according to findings from a randomized control trial conducted in the Netherlands. The results published in Radiology suggest that the effects are age dependent.

Researchers found overlap between ADHD and hypomanic symptoms across childhood and adolescence, which appears to reflect a genetic link between these phenotypes, according to findings from a Swedish twin cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Longitudinal data revealed that individuals with ADHD were at higher risk for all-cause and cause-specific premature death, which may increase depending on the number of psychiatric comorbidities.