Citations

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of psychiatric comorbidities on the association between childhood ADHD and suicidality among adults. Method: Subjects were recruited from a population-based birth cohort. Participating adult subjects with childhood ADHD and non-ADHD controls were administered a structured psychiatric interview to assess suicidality and psychiatric comorbidities. Associations were assessed using logistic regression. Results: Compared with controls, ADHD cases were significantly more likely to meet criteria for suicidality. Subjects with childhood ADHD who met criteria for generalized anxiety disorder had a higher than expected risk of suicidality with an observed odds ratio of 10.94 (95% confidence interval [4.97, 24.08]) compared with an expected odds ratio of 4.86, consistent with a synergistic interaction effect. Significant synergistic interactions were also observed for hypomanic episode and substance-related disorders. Conclusion: Childhood ADHD is significantly associated with adult suicidal risk. Comorbidity between ADHD and some psychiatric disorders is associated with a higher suicidal risk than expected.

A large cohort consisting of all children born to mothers from community provides ‘natural’ selection into different exposures and is a powerful resource for epidemiological research. A large population-based birth cohort with detailed systematic information already recorded, as part of longitudinal medical care, historical and current school data, detailed birth certificate data and all three resources available for every member of the birth cohort, are extremely rare. Our population-based birth cohort consists of all children born between 1976 and 2000 to mothers residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota, at the time of child's birth (N=39 890). In this paper, we provide a comprehensive report of the method describing the identification, the characteristics and longitudinal follow-up of each child (and family members) from the birth cohort, wealth of complementary resources of data and study measures and designs (retrospective, combined retrospective/prospective). In the last decade or so, we obtained scientific and clinically needed answers for incidence rates, potential risk/protective factors, treatment, comorbidities, outcomes, cost/usage and potential biases (that are always assessed and clinically interpreted) of many developmental learning and behavioural disorders (DLBDs) including learning and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders, intellectual disability, speech-language impairment and autism spectrum disorder. Many current and future questions related to DLBDs are remaining to be answered. The Olmsted County Birth Cohort (OCBC) is an example of a comprehensive, contemporary epidemiological research model for the development of similar research infrastructures, and its current and future results are important for replication and comparison with other population-based retrospective and prospective birth cohort studies.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate associations between ADHD and comorbid psychiatric disorders among adults from a population-based birth cohort. Method: Participants were recruited from all children born between 1976 and 1982 remaining in Rochester, Minnesota, after age 5. Participants with childhood ADHD ( n = 232; M age = 27.0 years; 72% men) and non-ADHD controls ( n = 335; M age = 28.6 years; 63% men) completed a structured interview (M.I.N.I. International Neuropsychiatric Interview) assessing current ADHD status and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Results: Among 232 with childhood ADHD, 68 (49 men, 19 women) had persistent adult ADHD. Compared with non-ADHD controls and non-persistent ADHD participants, adults with persistent ADHD were significantly more likely to have any or each of 12 psychiatric comorbidities. The associations retained significant or marginally significant when stratified by gender. Externalizing psychiatric disorders were more common in men (74%) and internalizing disorders in women (58%). Conclusion: Persistent ADHD is associated with an increased risk of comorbid psychiatric disorders in adult men and women.

OBJECTIVE: We determined the incidence of written-language disorder (WLD) among children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a population-based birth cohort. METHODS: Subjects included a birth cohort of all children born in 1976–1982 who remained in Rochester, Minnesota, after 5 years of age (N = 5718). Information from medical, school, and private tutorial records was abstracted. Cumulative incidences of WLD with or without reading disability (RD), identified with any of 3 formulas, among children with and without ADHD and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated. RESULTS: For both genders, the cumulative incidence of WLD by 19 years of age was significantly higher for children with ADHD than for children without ADHD (boys: 64.5% vs 16.5%; girls: 57.0% vs 9.4%). The magnitude of association between ADHD and WLD with RD was significantly higher for girls than for boys (adjusted HR: girls: 9.8; boys: 4.2; P < .001). However, this was not true for WLD without RD (adjusted HR: girls: 7.4; boys: 6.6; P = .64). CONCLUSIONS: ADHD is strongly associated with an increased risk of WLD (with or without RD) for both boys and girls. Girls with ADHD are at higher risk of having WLD with RD compared with boys with ADHD, whereas boys and girls are at the same risk of having WLD without RD.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of reading disability (RD) among children with and without research-identified attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), separately according to gender, in a population-based birth cohort. METHOD: Subjects included all children born in 1976–1982 remaining in Rochester, Minnesota, after 5 years of age (n = 5718). Information from medical, school, and private tutorial records was abstracted. Cumulative incidence of RD, by any of 3 RD formulas, in children with and without ADHD and corresponding hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated separately according to gender. RESULTS: Cumulative incidence of RD by the age of 19 years was significantly higher in children with ADHD (51% in boys, 46.7% in girls) compared with those without ADHD (14.5% in boys, 7.7% in girls). Among children with ADHD, the risk for RD was similar in boys versus girls (HR: 1.0). However, among children without ADHD, boys were 2.0 times more likely than girls to meet RD criteria. Among girls, the HR for the risk for RD associated with ADHD (versus those without ADHD) was 8.1 (95% confidence interval: 5.7–11.5), which was significantly higher than the corresponding HR among boys (3.9 [95% confidence interval: 3.2–4.9]). CONCLUSIONS: The risk for RD is significantly greater among children with ADHD compared with those without ADHD. Among children with ADHD, the risk for RD is the same for boys and girls. However, among children without ADHD, boys are more at risk for RD than girls. Among girls, the magnitude of increased risk for RD associated with ADHD is nearly twice that among boys, because girls without ADHD are less likely to have RD than boys without ADHD.