New Research Identified Birth Information Factors That Might Help Predict ADHD Symptoms During Childhood
According to a new study conducted by researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, pregnancy and birth information may help medical professionals predict the extent of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in childhood.
This finding was based on an examination of data from nearly 10,000 children born in the U.S.
The data was drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study– an ongoing research effort of United States children who were born between 2005 and 2009.
The kids were first enrolled in the study between the ages of 9 and 10. At that point, their parents were asked about various aspects of their pregnancy, birth, and as well as the current mental health of their child.
This allowed the research team to identify 40 information points that are usually known by birth– such as the age of the parents, the gender of the baby, any pregnancy or delivery complications, and the child’s exposure to certain factors in the womb, like cigarette smoke.
Then, through the use of machine learning, the team found that 17 out of the 40 factors were actually quite reliable for predicting ADHD symptoms during childhood.
According to Dr. Niamh Dooley, the study’s co-leader, not many studies have analyzed how prenatal and birth data might be helpful for predicting ADHD.
“We know that certain events during our time in the womb can have long-lasting consequences for our health. But not many studies have tried to quantify just how useful prenatal information could be in predicting childhood ADHD symptoms,” Dr. Dooley explained.
So, the researchers opted to focus on pregnancy and birth information that was readily available– the same type of data that would be in prenatal records.
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The team believed this would be useful for two reasons– ensuring their findings could be compared to other research that uses medical records and is relevant to the public.
The study also acknowledged how varying demographic, economic, and social factors contribute differently to the health of mothers and children.
For example, prenatal information alone was not able to predict the amount of ADHD symptoms equally across racial and ethnic groups, genders, and family income brackets.
“And while we only explained up to 10% of the variation in childhood ADHD symptoms, this was with information typically available at birth,” noted Mary Cannon, the study’s co-leader.
“We cannot predict who will develop ADHD in childhood with birth information alone, but it may help identify which children are most in need of support, particularly when combined with other factors like genetics or family history and the early life environment.”
Still, certain factors did stand out in the study as useful for predicting ADHD symptoms in childhood. These factors included mothers having low levels of iron or urinary tract infections, as well as if the child is male or was exposed to factors such as recreational drugs or cigarette smoke while in the womb.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Development and Psychopathology, visit the link here.
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