ADHD Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about ADHD, including details on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, drugs, treatment, symptoms.

The impact of early behavior disturbances on academic achievement in high school.

Breslau J, Miller E, Breslau N, Bohnert K, Lucia V, Schweitzer J

Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA. jabreslau@ucdavis.edu

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated that childhood behavioral disturbances predict lower scores on academic tests and curtail educational attainment. It is unknown which types of childhood behavioral problems are most likely to predict these outcomes. METHODS: An ethnically diverse cohort was assessed at 6 years of age for behavioral problems and IQ and at 17 years of age for academic achievement in math and reading. Of the original cohort of 823 children, 693 (84%) had complete data. Multiple regressions were used to estimate associations of attention and internalizing and externalizing problems at age 6 and with math and reading achievement at age 17, adjusting for IQ and indicators of family socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Adjusting for IQ, inner-city community, and maternal education and marital status, teacher ratings of attention, internalizing behavior, and externalizing problems at age 6 significantly predict math and reading achievement at age 17. When types of problems are examined simultaneously, attention problems predict math and reading achievement with little attenuation, whereas the influence of externalizing and internalizing problems is materially reduced and not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that target attention problems at school entry should be tested as a potential avenue for improving educational achievement.

Published 1 June 2009 in Pediatrics, 123(6): 1472-6.
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Articles on ADHD published 14 May 2009:

Association of early-life exposure to household gas appliances and indoor nitrogen dioxide with cognition and attention behavior in preschoolers.   Am J Epidemiol, 169(11): 1327-36.

The authors investigated the association of early-life exposure to indoor air pollution with neuropsychological development in preschoolers and assessed whether this association differs by glutathione-S-transferase gene (GSTP1) polymorphisms. A prospective, population-based birth cohort was set up in Menorca, Spain, in 1997-1999 (n = 482). Children were assessed for cognitive functioning (McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities) and attention-hyperactivity behaviors (Diagnostic and Statistical ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on ADHD published 11 May 2009:

Psychometric properties of teacher SKAMP ratings from a community sample.   Assessment, 16(2): 193-208.

This study examines the basic psychometric properties of the Swanson, Kotkin, Agler, M-Flynn, and Pelham Scale (SKAMP), a measure intended to assess functional impairment related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in a sample of 1,205 elementary students. Reliability, factor structure, and convergent, discriminant and predictive validity are evaluated. Results provide support for two separate but related subscales, Attention and Deportment, and provide evidence that the SKAMP predicts ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on ADHD published 30 April 2009:

Positive association between attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder medication use and academic achievement during elementary school.   Pediatrics, 123(5): 1273-9.

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 4.4 million (7.8%) children in the United States have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and 56% of affected children take prescription medications to treat the disorder. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is strongly linked with low academic achievement, but the association between medication use and academic achievement in school settings is largely unknown. Our objective was to determine if reported medication use for ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Short sleep duration and behavioral symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in healthy 7- to 8-year-old children.   Pediatrics, 123(5): e857-64.

OBJECTIVE: It has been hypothesized that sleep deprivation may manifest in children as behavioral symptoms rather than as tiredness, but only a few studies have investigated this hypothesis. The objective of our study was to evaluate whether short sleep is associated with behavioral symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in 7- to 8-year-old children. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of children born in 1998 in Helsinki, Finland. The participants included 280 (146 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Controlled clinical trial of zolpidem for the treatment of insomnia associated with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in children 6 to 17 years of age.   Pediatrics, 123(5): e770-6.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to evaluate the hypnotic efficacy of zolpidem at 0.25 mg/kg per day (maximum of 10 mg/day), compared with placebo, in children 6 through 17 years of age who were experiencing insomnia associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. METHODS: An 8-week, North American, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted. Patients underwent stratification according to age (6-11 years [N = 111] or 12-17 years [N = 90]) and were ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on ADHD published 6 April 2009:

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) associated with a Coronin-1A mutation and a chromosome 16p11.2 deletion.   Clin Immunol, 131(1): 24-30.

Defects causing severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) have been reported in pathways mediating antigen receptor rearrangement, antigen receptor and cytokine signaling, and purine metabolism. Recognizing that the actin regulator Coronin-1A is essential for development of a normal peripheral T cell compartment in mouse models, we identified absence of Coronin-1A in a girl with T-B+NK+ SCID who suffered recurrent infections including severe post-vaccination varicella at age 13 months. Murine ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on ADHD published 27 March 2009:

Randomised controlled study-efficacy of clonidine versus carbamazepine in children with ADHD.   J Trop Pediatr, 55(2): 116-21.

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Articles on ADHD published 4 March 2009:

CREM mutations and ADHD symptoms.   Med Hypotheses, 72(5): 544-5.

CREM mutant mice have behaviors similar to symptoms seen in ADHD such as the increased level of physical activity as well as altered emotional and stress responses. Our results demonstrate that all the four participants with ADHD had elevated levels of nocturnal melatonin in urine samples before starting the methylphenidate treatment. We hypothesize that abnormalities in CREM protein functions or mutations in the CREM gene may be underlying at least some of the symptoms in patients with ADHD. [Abstract] [Full-text]

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