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. 2012 Oct;53(10):1036-43.
doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02567.x. Epub 2012 May 31.

Childhood ADHD is strongly associated with a broad range of psychiatric disorders during adolescence: a population-based birth cohort study

Kouichi Yoshimasu  1 , William J Barbaresi, Robert C Colligan, Robert G Voigt, Jill M Killian, Amy L Weaver, Slavica K Katusic
Affiliations

Childhood ADHD is strongly associated with a broad range of psychiatric disorders during adolescence: a population-based birth cohort study

Kouichi Yoshimasu et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2012 Oct.

Abstract

Background: To evaluate associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid psychiatric disorders using research-identified incident cases of ADHD and population-based controls.

Methods: Subjects included a birth cohort of all children born 1976-1982 remaining in Rochester, MN after age five (n = 5,718). Among them we identified 379 ADHD incident cases and 758 age-gender matched non-ADHD controls, passively followed to age 19 years. All psychiatric diagnoses were identified and abstracted, but only those confirmed by qualified medical professionals were included in the analysis. For each psychiatric disorder, cumulative incidence rates for subjects with and without ADHD were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Corresponding hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using Cox models adjusted for gender and mother's age and education at the subject's birth. The association between ADHD and the likelihood of having an internalizing or externalizing disorder was summarized by estimating odds ratios (OR).

Results: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was associated with a significantly increased risk of adjustment disorders (HR = 3.88), conduct/oppositional defiant disorder (HR = 9.54), mood disorders (HR = 3.67), anxiety disorders (HR = 2.94), tic disorders (HR = 6.53), eating disorders (HR = 5.68), personality disorders (HR = 5.80), and substance-related disorders (HR = 4.03). When psychiatric comorbidities were classified on the internalization-externalization dimension, ADHD was strongly associated with coexisting internalizing/externalizing (OR = 10.6), or externalizing-only (OR = 10.0) disorders.

Conclusion: This population-based study confirms that children with ADHD are at significantly increased risk for a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Besides treating the ADHD, clinicians should identify and provide appropriate treatment for psychiatric comorbidities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Proportion of internalizing, externalizing, and combined disorders by ADHD status 1 None – no comorbid psychiatric disorder present 2 Indeterminate – insufficient information
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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