Genetic heterogeneity in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Gender, psychiatric comorbidity, and maternal ADHD.

Abstract

The authors examined the siblings of 140 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 120 control probands and classified families as antisocial if the proband had conduct disorder or a parent had antisocial personality. Partial support was found for the hypothesis that the ADHD gender effect would be limited to antisocial families. Boys had an increased risk for ADHD compared with girls, but only among siblings from antisocial families. The effect size for predicting ADHD in siblings of probands was greater for maternal compared with paternal ADHD, but only for families exhibiting antisocial disorders. Strong support was found for the hypothesis that, compared with siblings from nonantisocial families, those from antisocial families would have more psychopathology (ADHD, depression, substance use, and conduct disorders). The presence of antisocial disorders signals a distinct subtype of ADHD.

Cardiovascular Monitoring of Children and Adolescents With Heart Disease Receiving Medications for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…[15][16][17][18] Faraone et al 19 have estimated the heritability of ADHD at 0.76, making ADHD one of the most heritable psychiatric disorders.…”

Etiological heterogeneity in the development of antisocial behavior: the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development and the Young Adult Follow-Up

“…Life-course-persistent antisocial behavior is also associated with a different set of childhood variables (Moffitt, 1990;Moffitt et al 1996;Moffitt & Caspi, 2001), and antisocial behavior co-morbid with ADHD shows a different profile of family risk factors (Lahey et al 1988;Moffitt, 1990;Barkley et al 1991;Hinshaw, 1994;Faraone et al 1995) and a more severe prognosis (Moffitt, 1990). The co-morbid type that begins earlier may also be more strongly genetically influenced (Silberg et al 1996).…”

Co-transmission of conduct problems with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: familial evidence for a distinct disorder

“…The syndromes occur separately but can be comorbid. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the expression of the single diagnosis and their aggregation in families with attention deficit (Thapar et al 2001;Nadder et al 2002) and antisocial disorders (Faraone et al 1995;Burt et al 2005). Yet it remains controversial, whether the co-occurrence of the disorders in individuals (e.g., ADHD þ CD) aggregates in families, and represents a separate heritable entity.…”