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. 2021 Sep-Oct;50(5):619-631.
doi: 10.1080/15374416.2019.1709196. Epub 2020 Jan 17.

Can Familial Risk for ADHD Be Detected in the First Two Years of Life?

Meghan Miller  1 , Ana-Maria Iosif  2 , Laura J Bell  3 , Alexander Farquhar-Leicester  4 , Burt Hatch  1 , Alesha Hill  1 , Monique Moore Hill  1 , Erika Solis  1 , Gregory S Young  1 , Sally Ozonoff  1
Affiliations

Can Familial Risk for ADHD Be Detected in the First Two Years of Life?

Meghan Miller et al. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2021 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated trajectories of attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD)-relevant behaviors in a sample of infants at high and low familial risk for ADHD who were prospectively evaluated at 12, 18, and 24 months of age.Method: Participants included 43 infants at risk for ADHD based on family history (i.e., diagnosed first-degree relative) and 40 low-risk infants (i.e., no family history of ADHD). Instances of inattention, out-of-seat, and grabbing behavior were coded from video; analogous constructs were rated by examiners unaware of familial risk status after completing structured standardized assessments with the infants/toddlers. At the end of each study visit, examiners solicited parents' concerns about their child's behavior. Differences in ADHD-related behaviors and parent concerns were examined between 12 and 24 months of age.Results: Infants with an older sibling or parent diagnosed with ADHD were distinguishable from infants with no family history of ADHD as early as 12 months of age based on directly observed and examiner reports of behavior, particularly with respect to hyperactive-impulsive behavior. Parents of infants at familial risk for ADHD also reported significantly more behavior/temperament concerns as early as 12 months of age compared to parents of infants at low risk for ADHD.Conclusions: These findings highlight the ability to detect genetic liability for ADHD by the end of the first year of life, suggesting that well-designed family risk studies of ADHD are feasible and may be clinically valuable. They also suggest the potential for earlier detection of risk for ADHD than has previously been possible.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Examiner ratings of ADHD-related behaviors for the low-risk and ADHD-risk groups from 12-24 months of age. Error bars represent 95% Confidence Intervals.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Second-by-second behavioral coding of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive behaviors for the low-risk and ADHD-risk groups between 12-24 months of age. Error bars represent 95% Confidence Intervals.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Parent-reported behavior/temperament concerns for the low-risk and ADHD-risk groups from 12-24 months of age. Error bars represent 95% Confidence Intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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