Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 18:19:1207-1219.
doi: 10.2147/NDT.S409503. eCollection 2023.

Network Analysis of ADHD Symptoms and Cognitive Profiles in Children

Qionglin Zhou #  1 , Xiaoshan Ye #  1 , Chongxia Wei #  2 , Yufan Wu  1 , Pengcheng Ren  1 , Xuewei Lin  2 , Ling Li  2 , Wei Xiang  1   2 , Le Xiao  1   2
Affiliations

Network Analysis of ADHD Symptoms and Cognitive Profiles in Children

Qionglin Zhou et al. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. .

Abstract

Purpose: Although many studies have reported the cognitive profiles in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the interactions between ADHD symptoms and the patients' cognitive profiles have not been carefully examined through the network analysis. Here, in this study, we systematically analyzed the ADHD patents' symptoms and cognitive profiles, and identified a set of interactions between ADHD symptoms and cognitive domains using the network approach.

Patients and methods: A total of 146 children with ADHD, 6 to 15 years of age, were included in the study. All participants were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) test. The patients' ADHD symptoms were evaluated by the Vanderbilt ADHD parent and teacher rating scales. GraphPad Prism 9.1.1 software was used for descriptive statistics and R 4.2.2 was used for network model construction.

Results: The ADHD children in our sample showed lower scores for full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), verbal comprehension index (VCI), processing speed index (PSI) and working memory index (WMI). Among all the ADHD core symptoms and comorbid symptoms, the academic ability, inattention symptoms and mood disorder showed direct interaction with the cognitive domains of WISC-IV. In addition, oppositional defiant of the ADHD comorbid symptoms, and perceptual reasoning of the cognitive domains exhibited the highest strength centrality in the ADHD-Cognition network based on parent ratings. Classroom behaviors of the ADHD functional impairment, and verbal comprehension of the cognitive domains exhibited the highest strength centrality in the network based on teacher ratings.

Conclusion: We highlighted the importance of considering the interactions between the ADHD symptoms and cognitive properties when designing the intervention plans for the ADHD children.

Keywords: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; network analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The cognitive profiles in ADHD with and without comorbid symptoms. Estimated mean scores of WISC-IV indexes for children with ADHD alone (n = 55) and with comorbid symptoms (n = 91). Error bars represent standard errors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The ADHD-Cognition network based on the parent ratings and the corresponding strength centrality indices. (A) The ADHD-Cognition network based on the parent ratings of the children with ADHD. The nodes in the network represent ADHD symptoms and cognitive profiles, and the edges represent strength of association between nodes. Blue edges and red edges represent positive and negative correlations, respectively, and thicker edges represent higher correlations. (B) The strength centrality of each node in the ADHD-Cognition network based on the parent ratings. Nodes are depicted on the y-axis and Values shown on the x-axis are standardized z-scores. Node strength signifies to the number and strength of the direct associations of a node with other nodes in the network.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The ADHD-Cognition network based on the teacher ratings and the corresponding strength centrality indices. (A) The ADHD-Cognition network based on the teacher ratings of the children with ADHD. The nodes in the network represent ADHD symptoms and cognitive profiles, and the edges represent strength of association between nodes. Blue edges and red edges represent positive and negative correlations, respectively, and thicker edges represent higher correlations. (B) The strength centrality of each node in the ADHD-Cognition network based on the teacher ratings. Nodes are depicted on the y-axis and Values shown on the x-axis are standardized z-scores. Node strength signifies to the number and strength of the direct associations of a node with other nodes in the network.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Liu A, Xu Y, Yan Q, Tong L. The prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among Chinese children and adolescents. Scientific Report. 2018;8(1):11169. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Faraone S, Banaschewski T, Coghill D, et al. The world federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021;128:789–818. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sacco R, Camilleri N, Eberhardt J, Umla-Runge K, Newbury-Birch D. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022. doi:10.1007/s00787-022-02131-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cree RA, Bitsko R, Danielson M, et al. Surveillance of ADHD among children in the United States: validity and reliability of parent report of provider diagnosis. J Atten Disord. 2022;27(2):111–123. doi:10.1177/10870547221131979 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Homer C, Baltz R, Hickson G, et al. Clinical practice guideline: diagnosis and evaluation of the child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics. 2000;105(5):1158–1170. - PubMed