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. 2018 Jul 3;8(7):127.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci8070127.

Maternal Biomarkers of Acetaminophen Use and Offspring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Maternal Biomarkers of Acetaminophen Use and Offspring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Yuelong Ji et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested a positive association between self-reported maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy and risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring. We sought to examine the prospective association between maternal plasma biomarkers of acetaminophen intake and ADHD diagnosis in the offspring. This report analyzed 1180 children enrolled at birth and followed prospectively as part of the Boston Birth Cohort, including 188 with ADHD diagnosis based on electronic medical record review. Maternal biomarkers of acetaminophen intake were measured in plasma samples obtained within 1⁻3 days postpartum. Odds ratios for having ADHD diagnosis or other developmental disorders were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models, adjusting for pertinent covariables. Compared to neurotypical children, we observed significant positive dose-responsive associations with ADHD diagnosis for each maternal acetaminophen biomarker. These dose⁻responsive associations persisted after adjusting for indication of acetaminophen use and other pertinent covariates; and were specific to ADHD, rather than other neurodevelopmental disorders. In the stratified analyses, differential point estimates of the associations were observed across some strata of covariates. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Maternal acetaminophen biomarkers were specifically associated with increased risk of ADHD diagnosis in offspring. Additional clinical and mechanistic investigations are warranted.

Keywords: ADHD; acetaminophen; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathways of acetaminophen metabolism (Bolded metabolites were measured in this study).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the distributions of acetaminophen metabolites and acetaminophen burden by specific diagnosis groups. NT was defined as free of any developmental disorder diagnosis; ADHD was defined as any ADHD diagnosis; ASD only was defined as any ASD diagnosis without having an ADHD diagnosis; other DD was defined as any developmental disorder diagnosis other than ASD and ADHD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The forest plot for the crude association between maternal binary acetaminophen burden and the risk of ADHD diagnosis in offspring across each stratum of pertinent covariables. Acetaminophen burden is the sum of all the acetaminophen metabolites. No detection group is the reference group.

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