ADHD Flashcards
Prevalence of ADHD in children
Prevalence of ADHD in children
Not enough child psychiatrists to diagnose and treat ADHD
As a group these children have well-known risk factors and show abnormal neuro-psychological functioning and neurobiological correlates
History
Der Struwwelpeter, an illustrated book portraying children misbehaving (“Impulsive Insanity/Defective Inhibition”) by Heinrich Hoffman (1854).
ADHD has long been described in the medical literature. Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), a German psychiatrist, was the first to describe children whose behavior was marked by impulsivity and hyperactivity. He named this behavioral problem “impulsive insanity” or “defective inhibition”.
History
1902 Lancet article 1920’s “minimal brain damage” 1930’s “hyperkinetische Erkrankung” 1960’s “minimal brain dysfunction” 1937 Benzedrine discovered Hyperkinetic Syndrome of Childhood” in ICD-9 1980 inattention recognized DSM-III Attention-Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity
ADHD
common in all cultures
ADHD can be serious:
untreated it can lead to educational failure, accidents and unfair harsh punishments that may worsen the behaviour and outcome.
Severe ADHD can persist into adulthood with risk of :
marriage breakdowns, unemployment, accidents, other psychiatric disorders
ADHD is stigmatizing:
Patients or their families may be blamed for the behaviours, suffering social exclusion
ADHD is treatable with:
several evidence based treatments
Core Symptoms
Inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity
Present in more than one context
Leading to functional impairment
Subtypes in DSM
Combined subtype
Predominantly hyperactive
Predominantly inattentive
Changes to ADHD Dx in DSM-V
Symptoms must be present < 12 years old
(not 7 years old)
Adult symptoms similar to child symptoms, but lower threshold
(e.g. 5+ symptoms needed, not 6+)
No exclusion criteria for autism spectrum disorders, now considering ADHD as a co-morbid disorder
Prevalence
6% for children
3% for adolescents
Male > Female
Clinical Pictures Across Ages
Pre-school:
play < 3minutes, not listening “whirlwind”, no sense of danger
Clinical Pictures Across Ages
Primary school:
activities < 10minutes, forgetful, distracted, restless, intrusive, disruptive
Clinical Pictures Across Ages
Adolescence:
attention< 30 mins, no focus/planning, fidgety, reckless
Clinical Pictures Across Ages
Adults:
incomplete details, restless, forgetful, impatient, accidents
Associations with Durability of Symptoms
Lower academic achievement Marital problems and dissatisfaction Divorce Difficulties dealing with offspring Lower job performance Unemployment Employment below potential Traffic accidents Other psychiatric disorders
Etiology & Risk Factors
Strong genetic component (76%)
Perinatal factors – some evidence
Neurobiological deficits – growing evidence
Deprivation and family factors – important for course and outcome (maybe not causation)
Neurobiology
Frontal-striatal dysfunction
mediated by GABA
modulated by catecholamines
(DA, NE)
Catecholaminergic dysregulation
Delay in cortical maturation
Associated Features
Defiant, aggressive antisocial behaviors Problems with social relationships IQ tends to be lower than in the general population Specific learning problems Co-ordination problems Specific developmental delay Poor emotional self-regulation
Genetics:
proportion of variance attributed to additive genetic factors 76%
Negative results in genome wide association studies and most associated candidate genes only responsible for small increase in risk.
Most genes implied related to catecholaminergic system (DAT 1 – dopamine transporter gene)
Perinatal Factors
most evidence for association with prematurity, low birth weight and Intra-uterine tobacco exposure
Neurobiological deficits
(slight differences in mean values not brain damage)
Fronto-striatal dysfunction (executive function and inhibitory control)
Catecholaminic dysregulation
Delay in cortical maturation
Deprivation and family factors:
implied by epidemiological studies: more common in low SES, institutions etc. but may also be related to course and outcome rather than causation