Behavioral outcome including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/hyperactivity disorder and minor neurological signs in perinatal high-risk newborns at 4-6 years of age with relation to risk factors

A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Birth Weight and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

A large body of work has investigated the association between birth weight and ADHD and has resulted in mixed findings with regard to the direction and magnitude of this association. Despite the vast amount of research on this topic, a comprehensive and systematic quantification of the association between birth weight and ADHD has yet to be undertaken. A meta-analysis of 88 unique studies (N = 4,645,482) was conducted to quantify the overall effect size of birth weight on ADHD symptoms. Several variables were examined as moderators that may contribute to systematic variation in effect sizes. Overall, birth weight was found to have a small, but significant, association with ADHD symptoms such that individuals born at lower birth weights manifested greater symptoms of ADHD (r = -0.15). Sample type, mean birth weight of the sample, geographic region, the informant of ADHD symptoms, ADHD symptom measurement method, and race were all found to contribute significantly to heterogeneity in effect sizes. Notably, several early life risk factors previously found to be associated with both ADHD and birth weight, gestational age and prenatal smoking exposure, were not found to contribute to heterogeneity in effect sizes. The findings of the current analyses align with the growing recognition that early life adversity contributes to neurodevelopmental difficulties, and the findings highlight the importance of a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the association between early life risk factors and adverse neurodevelopmental sequela, such as that observed in ADHD.

ADHD: volumetry, motor, and oculomotor functions

The use of quantitative neuroimaging (volumetry), motor, and oculomotor assessments for studying children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown dramatically in the past 20 years. Most evidence to date suggests that anomalous basal ganglia development plays an important role in early manifestation of ADHD; however, widespread cerebellar and cortical delays are also observed and are associated with the behavioral (cognitive, motor, oculomotor) phenotype in children with ADHD. These motor and "executive" control systems appear to develop in parallel, such that both systems display a similar protracted developmental trajectory, with periods of rapid growth in elementary years and continued maturation into young adulthood. Development of each system is dependent on the functional integrity and maturation of related brain regions, suggesting a shared neural circuitry that includes frontostriatal systems and the cerebellum (i.e., those identified as anomalous in studies of volumetry in ADHD). Motor and oculomotor paradigms provide unique opportunities to examine executive control processes that exist at the interface between movement and cognition in children with ADHD, also linking cognition and neurological development. The observed pattern of volumetric differences, together with the known parallel development of motor and executive control systems, appears to predict motor and oculomotor anomalies in ADHD, which are highly relevant, yet commonly overlooked in clinical settings.

Early determinants of attention and hyperactivity problems in adolescents: the 11-year follow-up of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study

The aim of this study was to assess early determinants of attention and hyperactivity problems in adolescents. In 1993, all hospital births in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, were monitored and mothers were interviewed (N = 5,249). At 11 years of age, 4,423 mothers answered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in order to evaluate attention and hyperactivity problems in the adolescents. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regression. Prevalence of attention and hyperactivity problems was 19.9%. Factors associated with the outcome in the adjusted analysis were: male gender, low family income, smoking during pregnancy, minor psychiatric disorders in the mother, and history of child's behavioral/emotional problems at four years of age. Early life events impacted attention and hyperactivity problems in adolescence. Risk factors for attention and hyperactivity problems found in this study were similar to those reported in other cultures.

The limited effects of obstetrical and neonatal complications on conduct and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in middle childhood

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a wide range of obstetrical and neonatal complications as well as socioeconomic variables on the behaviors characterized by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder.

METHOD

Data were collected on 7- to 8-year old twins, using multiple instruments assessing many areas of individual and family functioning. The influence of several aspects of prenatal care, labor and delivery, and early life were considered as well as indicators of socioeconomic status, such as family income and maternal education.

RESULTS

The observed associations were stronger for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder than conduct disorder symptoms and stronger for females than males. Family income and gender significantly predicted both behavioral outcomes, whereas birth weight predicted attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms only. However, the presence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct symptom behaviors were not associated with an occurrence of more obstetrical or neonatal complications as indicated by hierarchical linear modeling analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

By school age, behavioral problems related to inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, defiance, and conduct are relatively unaffected by general adversity in the neonatal and perinatal periods.

Perinatal factors affecting expression of obsessive compulsive disorder in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether adverse perinatal experiences of children are associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in youth.

METHODS

Subjects were 130 children and adolescents with OCD recruited from a family genetic study of pediatric OCD and 49 matched controls from a contemporaneous family case-control study of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Subjects were comprehensively assessed in multiple domains of function. A systematic history of pregnancy, delivery, and infancy complications was obtained.

RESULTS

Compared to normal controls, children with OCD had mothers with significantly higher rates of illness during pregnancy requiring medical care (chi(2) +/- 8.61, p +/- 0.003) and more birth difficulties (induced labor, forceps delivery, nuchal cord, or prolonged labor) (chi(2) +/- 7.51, p +/- 0.006). Among the OCD-affected children, we found several significant associations between adverse perinatal experiences and earlier age at onset, increased OCD severity, and increased risk for comorbid ADHD, chronic tic disorder, anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder.

CONCLUSION

Although exploratory, our analyses found that children with OCD had higher rates of several adverse perinatal experiences compared with controls. Among OCD-affected children, comorbid psychopathology was predicted by specific perinatal risk factors. Prospective studies of perinatal adverse events that minimize potential recall bias and type I errors are needed.

Attention problems in very low birth weight preschoolers: are new screening measures needed for this special population?

PROBLEM

Children born prematurely have been shown to have a range of problems that often result in delayed academic achievement.

METHODS

The current study assessed both attention problem scores (Child Behavior Checklist) and actual performance on tasks tapping three attention networks in a sample of children (n = 94) born with very low birth weights (VLBW; < or = 1500 grams).

FINDINGS

Attention problem scores were extremely low and did not predict children's actual attention performance.

CONCLUSIONS

A body of research is developing that suggests VLBW children may have specific, yet subtle, attention problems that may differ from those of other children.

Early postpartum sleep and fatigue for mothers after cesarean delivery compared with vaginal delivery: an exploratory study

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to describe sleep and fatigue during the first week of postpartum recovery, and compare women after cesarean delivery with women after vaginal delivery while their infants were hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU).

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive exploratory study involved 21 postpartum Chinese American mothers (6 after cesarean delivery and 15 after vaginal delivery). Three types of data were collected: (1) mothers' demographic data; (2) objective sleep that included total sleep time (TST) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) measured using wrist actigraphy, and (3) subjective sleep quality (General Sleep Disturbance Scale) and fatigue severity (Numerical Rating Scale-Fatigue).

RESULTS

All of the mothers experienced poor sleep while their 3- to 5-day-old infants were in the ICU. After cesarean birth, mothers averaged only about 4 hours TST with 34% WASO while still hospitalized, compared with 6.5 hours TST with 14% WASO for mothers after vaginal birth monitored in their home after hospital discharge.

CONCLUSION

Sleep disturbances and fatigue need to be further investigated to better understand the relationship between type of delivery and maternal health outcomes. Despite infant care provided in ICUs, these new mothers could benefit from interventions to promote their own sleep, particularly when also recovering from cesarean delivery.