RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 What causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 260
OP 265
DO 10.1136/archdischild-2011-300482
VO 97
IS 3
A1 Anita Thapar
A1 Miriam Cooper
A1 Rachel Jefferies
A1 Evangelia Stergiakouli
YR 2012
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/97/3/260.abstract
AB Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects around 1–3% of children. There is a high level of comorbidity with developmental and learning problems as well as with a variety of psychiatric disorders. ADHD is highly heritable, although there is no single causal risk factor and non-inherited factors also contribute to its aetiology. The genetic and environmental risk factors that have been implicated appear to be associated with a range of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric outcomes, not just ADHD. The evidence to date suggests that both rare and multiple common genetic variants likely contribute to ADHD and modify its phenotype. ADHD or a similar phenotype also appears to be more common in extreme low birth weight and premature children and those exposed to exceptional early adversity. In this review, the authors consider recent developments in the understanding of risk factors that influence ADHD.