A recent study has revealed that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may develop the risk of suffering from other subsequent psychotic disorders in their later life.
Mikaïl Nourredine, M.D., from Hospices Civils de Lyon in France, and his fellow colleagues had conducted a systematic literature review to examine the studies investigating the association between childhood ADHD and the risk for a subsequent psychotic disorder.
A total of 15 studies were included in the review of which 12 studies were pooled in the meta-analysis, including 1.85 million participants. According to the results, childhood ADHD was linked with a notable increase in the risk of subsequent psychotic disorder, with a pooled relative effect of 4.74. Additionally, the researchers could not find any significant differences between-group for subgroup analyses, in regards to psychotic disorder (odds ratio [OR], 5.04) or schizophrenia (OR, 4.59) outcomes. Moreover, results were also found to be the same in study design (cohort: OR, 4.64; case-control: OR, 6.81), as well as in adjusted (OR, 4.72) and unadjusted (OR, 3.81) analyses.
Such findings highlight the fact that childhood ADHD is associated with an increased risk of a subsequent psychotic disorder. However, further examination is needed to determine the mechanisms that link these common conditions. Studies are required to examine whether early treatment of ADHD will, in turn, reduce the risk of subsequent psychotic disorder.
To Know More, You May Refer To:
Nourredine M, Gering A, Fourneret P, et al. Association of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Childhood and Adolescence With the Risk of Subsequent Psychotic Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4799
