1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-4-82 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-4-11-2 Learning Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Risk Factors for Attention Deficit Disorder http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 11 1990 01 08 2016 4 11 82 82 Copyright: © 1990 The Author(s) 1990 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Family-genetic and psychosocial risk factors in DSM-III attention deficit disorder

Family-genetic and psychosocial risk factors for DSM-III attention deficit disorder (ADD) were evaluated among the 457 first degree relatives of clinically referred children and adolescents with ADD compared with psychiatric and normal controls at the Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

 Attention Deficit Disorder Psychiatric and Normal Controls Antisocial Disorders

Family-genetic and psychosocial risk factors for DSM-III attention deficit disorder (ADD) were evaluated among the 457 first degree relatives of clinically referred children and adolescents with ADD compared with psychiatric and normal controls at the Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Relatives of ADD probands had a higher risk for ADD, antisocial disorders and mood disorders than did relatives of psychiatric and normal controls. The findings could not be accounted for by low social class or family disruption. [1]

COMMENT. These findings confirm that ADD is a highly familial disorder, and relatives of clinically referred ADD children and adolescents have a significantly increased risk for ADD.

Barkley RA et al [2] report an eight year prospective follow-up study of the adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria. More than 80% of the hyperactive children had ADHD and 60% had either oppositional defiant disorder and/or conduct disorder at outcome. Antisocial acts, cigarette and marijuana use, and negative academic performance were considerably higher among hyperactives than normals. Conduct disorder accounted for many though not all of these adverse outcomes. There was considerably greater risk for family disturbance and negative academic and social outcomes in adolescents than previously reported.

In the pediatric and pediatric neurology examination of children with learning and behavior problems, the Pediatric Evaluation of Educational Readiness test (PEER) can assist in the developmental follow-up of children at risk for learning and behavior disorders. Observations of behavior including attention and activity correlated with test results obtained independently by a psychometrist. [3]

 Biederman J Faraone SV Keenan K Knee D Tsuang MT Family-genetic and psychosocial risk factors in DSM-III attention deficit disorder J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1990 Jul 29 4 526 33 10.1097/00004583-199007000-00004 2387786 Barkley RA Fischer M Edelbrock CS Smallish L The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: I. An 8-year prospective follow-up study J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1990 Jul 29 4 546 57 10.1097/00004583-199007000-00007 2387789 Blackman JA Bretthauer J Examining high-risk children for learning problems in the health care setting Pediatrics 1990 Sep 86 3 398 404 2388789