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Comparative Study
. 2015 May;76(5):599-606.
doi: 10.4088/JCP.14m09095.

Longitudinal trajectories of ADHD symptomatology in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder and community controls

Jae-Won Kim  1 , Haifeng Yu, Neal D Ryan, David A Axelson, Benjamin I Goldstein, Tina R Goldstein, Rasim S Diler, Kelly Monk, Mary Beth Hickey, Dara J Sakolsky, John A Merranko, Boris Birmaher
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Longitudinal trajectories of ADHD symptomatology in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder and community controls

Jae-Won Kim et al. J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 May.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the psychopathology and longitudinal course of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology and global functioning between the offspring with ADHD of parents with bipolar disorder and the offspring with ADHD of community control parents.

Method: One hundred twenty-two offspring with ADHD of parents with bipolar disorder and 48 offspring with ADHD of control parents from the Pittsburgh Bipolar Offspring Study (BIOS) were included. DSM-IV lifetime psychiatric disorders were ascertained through the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). The outcome measures of ADHD symptoms were ascertained at intake and every other year for a period of 6 years using the ADHD section of the K-SADS-PL and the Disruptive Behavior Disorder rating scale (DBD). Global functioning was assessed using the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS).

Results: The offspring with ADHD of parents with bipolar disorder showed higher lifetime prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders relative to the offspring with ADHD of control parents (P values ≤ .03). For both groups of offspring with ADHD, the hyperactivity, impulsivity, and total K-SADS-PL ADHD scores decreased over time (P values < .001) without differences between the 2 groups. There were no between- or within-group differences in the inattention scores over time. The DBD ADHD scores decreased with age in both groups (P values < .002) without differences between the 2 groups. For both groups of offspring with ADHD, the global functioning did not improve over time.

Conclusions: Offspring with ADHD of parents with bipolar disorder have more psychopathology relative to offspring with ADHD of control parents. However, there were no differences in the developmental courses of ADHD symptomatology between these 2 groups of ADHD youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ms. Gill reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Disclosure: Dr. T. Goldstein has received research support from NIMH, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), The Find Foundation, The Ryan Licht Sang Foundation, and The Pittsburgh Foundation, and royalties from Guilford Press. Dr. Birmaher has received grant or research support from NIMH, and has received or will receive royalties for publications from Random House, Inc., Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, and Up to Date. Drs. Kim, Ryan, Axelson, B. Goldstein, Diler, and Sakolsky, and Mr. Yu, Ms. Monk, Ms. Hickey, and Mr. Merranko report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Developmental trajectories of ADHD symptoms based on K-SADS-PL. Y-axis: Lines represent observed means on ADHD symptoms over time. ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; BP, bipolar disorder; K-SADS-PL, Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Present and Lifetime Version
Figure 2
Figure 2
Developmental trajectories of ADHD symptoms based on DBD. Y-axis: Lines represent observed means on ADHD symptoms over time. ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; BP, bipolar disorder; DBD, disruptive behavior disorder rating scale
Figure 3
Figure 3
Developmental trajectories of global functioning based on CGAS. Y-axis: Lines represent observed means on CGAS scores over time. ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; BP, bipolar disorder; CGAS, Children’s Global Assessment Scale
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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