Children with ADHD Have a Greater Lifetime History of Concussion: Results from the ABCD Study

Abstract

This case-control study using baseline data from the population cohort Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study^® compared lifetime history of concussion between children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We hypothesized that children with ADHD would have a greater lifetime history of concussion than children without ADHD. Children were recruited from schools across the United States, sampled to provide strong generalizability to the US population. The current sample included 10,585 children (age: mean = 9.9; standard deviation = 0.6; range 9-10 years; 48.9% girls; 64.6% White), including 1085 with ADHD and 9500 without ADHD. The prevalence of prior concussion among children with ADHD was 7.2% (95% CI: 6.6-7.8%) compared with 3.2% (3.1-3.3%) among children without ADHD, meaning current ADHD status was associated with twice the odds of experiencing a prior concussion [χ² = 44.54; p < 0.001; odds ratio = 2.34 (1.81-3.03)]. No significant differences were observed in proportion of boys and girls with ADHD who had a prior concussion history. The number of current ADHD symptoms were not meaningfully associated with prior concussion history. Lower socioeconomic status was associated with lower rates of reported concussion, but not differentially in association with ADHD. ADHD is associated with twice the lifetime prevalence of prior concussion before age 11 among children from the general U.S. population. Boys and girls with ADHD did not differ in proportions with prior concussion and concussion history was not related to the number of ADHD symptoms reported by parents.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; children; mild traumatic brain injury.