A family-genetic study of girls with DSM-III attention deficit disorder

Article Abstract:

Attention deficit disorder is a common psychological problem that may affect 6 to 9 percent of school-age children. It is two to nine times more common in boys than in girls. Most studies of attention deficit disorder have provided little or no information about girls. Overall ratings of disturbance are about the same for boys as for girls. However, it is suggested that girls with attention deficit disorder have higher rates of cognitive (memory and learning) impairment, depression, and low self-esteem than boys. In addition, depression in the mother and marital discord between parents seem to occur less often in families of girls with attention deficit disorder than in the families of such boys. Because family disruption and several behavioral disturbances are observed less frequently among girls with the disorder, they may be less likely to come to the attention of health care providers. Genetic studies in families of boys with attention deficit disorder have consistently found relatives of boys to be at greater risk for attention deficit disorder. This provides external validation for the diagnosis in boys and suggests genetic influences may be at work. The extension of these findings to girls would provide support for the validity of the attention deficit disorder diagnosis in girls. Twenty-one girls with attention deficit disorder and 20 normal controls were assessed along with their relatives. Both groups of girls and their relatives were evaluated on the basis of standard diagnostic interviews. The relatives of girls with attention deficit disorder had higher risks for the disorder, antisocial disorders, major depression, and anxiety disorders. These findings are consistent with earlier work done with boys, which was conducted with identical methods, and provide further support for the validity of the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder in girls. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Demographic aspects

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Familial association between attention deficit disorder and anxiety disorders

Article Abstract:

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) involves persistent, developmentally inappropriate behavior related to an inability to be attentive. Investigators have noted high rates of ADD among children of parents with anxiety disorders. To test this observation, 356 first-degree relatives of 73 caucasian male children with ADD (aged 6 to 17 years) who had been referred to a clinic, and 26 non-ADD, healthy children who served as a comparison group were studied. The patients, the comparison group and their biological relatives were clinically evaluated by raters using structured diagnostic interviews. Parents of all the children were assessed for both childhood (e.g., separation anxiety and avoidant disorders) and adult (e.g., panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or agoraphobia) types of anxiety disorders. Twenty-two of the 73 ADD patients met criteria for additional childhood anxiety disorders. The rate of separation and divorce among parents of the children with ADD plus additional anxiety disorders was significantly higher than for the other children. The risk for anxiety disorder was approximately twice as high for relatives of ADD children with anxiety disorder as for relatives of the other groups. The significantly higher risk for anxiety disorders among parents of ADD children is not consistent with literature positing that ADD and anxiety disorders are independent of each other. However, findings of this study must be interpreted with caution, since clinically referred ADD children may be more ill than ADD children in the community, and parents who refer their ADD children to clinics may be more anxious than parents of other children with ADD. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Testing, Genetic aspects, Parent and child, Parent-child relations

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Genetic heterogeneity in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): gender, psychiatric comorbidity, and maternal ADHD

Article Abstract:

The influence of gender and antisocial disorders on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rates observed in the siblings of ADHD probands was examined. Partial evidence was obtained to support the hypothesis that the probability of sibling ADHD was higher in antisocial families with maternal ADHD. The hypothesis that brothers of ADHD probands are more prone to ADHD compared to their sisters in antisocial families was strongly supported.

Research, Family, Antisocial personality disorder, Brothers and sisters

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