Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms and smoking trajectories: Race and gender differences

Abstract

Purpose This study examined the influence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms severity and directionality (hyperactive-impulsive symptoms relative to inattentive symptoms) on trajectories of the probability of current (past month) smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked from age 13 to 32. Racial and gender differences in the relationship of ADHD symptoms and smoking trajectories were also assessed. Methods A subsample of 9,719 youth (54.5% female) was drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Cohort sequential design and zero-inflated Poission (ZIP) latent growth modeling were used to estimate the relationship between ADHD directionality and severity on smoking development. Results ADHD severity’s effect on the likelihood of ever smoking cigarettes at the intercept (age 13) had a greater impact on White males than other groups. ADHD severity also had a stronger influence on the initial number of cigarettes smoked at age 13 among Hispanic participants. The relationships between ADHD directionality (hyperactive-impulsive symptoms relative to inattentive symptoms) and a higher number of cigarettes smoked at the intercept were stronger among Hispanic males than others. Gender differences manifested only among Whites. Conclusion ADHD severity and directionality had unique effects on smoking trajectories. Our results also highlight that the risk of ADHD symptoms may differ by race and gender.

Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, risky substance use and substance use disorders: a follow-up study among young men

“…Fourth, we used the ASRS Screener, which was designed to assess ADHD as a total score and not to differentiate between inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms. Therefore, even though our post hoc evaluations were consistent with previous studies [21,63], future studies need to address the influence of each symptom type on the course of SUDs more thoroughly, using instruments that are suitable for assessing inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms separately. Fifth, the investigation interval of 15 months was relatively short, and the number of subjects whose substance use changed over this period (i.e., those who matured out of or developed an SUD at follow-up) was small for some substances, like nicotine.…”

Sex and racial/ethnic differences in the association between childhood attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom subtypes and body mass index in the transition from adolescence to adulthood in the United States

“…While our current data set does not allow us to further elucidate sex and racial/ethnic differences, topics which future research should focus on include, but should not be limited to, (1) whether the association between ADHD subtypes and potential mediators (eg, energy balance) differs by sex and race/ethnicity, and (2) whether the associations between potential mediators and BMI differ by sex and race/ethnicity; these differences can result from genetic differences, sociocultural differences and/or the combination of them. While very few previous studies have stratified by race/ethnicity instead of adjusting for race/ethnicity (eg, Lee et al that used the Add Health data to investigate the association between ADHD symptoms and smoking trajectories by sex and race/ethnicity), such an approach may be important in order to avoid masking potentially significant differences among population subgroups.…”

Substance use in childhood and adolescence and its associations with quality of life and behavioral strengths and difficulties

“…Alcohol use has been found to contribute to conduct problems, especially in individuals with depression [ 22 , 23 ]. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has also been reported to be associated with an increased likelihood for alcohol and cigarette use in childhood and adolescence [ 24 , 25 ]. Importantly, previous research suggests that children who start using substances at an early age are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems than children who start later [ 26 ].…”