| ADHD Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (sometimes also referred to as ADD, an earlier name many feel is still more applicable to many individuals) is a psychiatric diagnosis that identifies characteristics such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control, and distractibility, when judged to be chronic, as symptoms of a neurological pathology. ADHD is commonly diagnosed among children.
Possible Causes of ADHD Genetic Vulnerabilities - Genetic vulnerabilities It has been demonstrated that children who have at least one parent diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Scientific evidence suggests most strongly that, in many cases, the disorder is genetically transmitted. If a parent has ADHD, their child is 8 times more likely to have ADHD, and a sibling is 5–7 times more likely to also have the same disorder. The concordance between identical twins if one has the disorder is 78–92%. Candidate genes have been identified as having some association with the disorder, as noted above. These genes imply that ADHD may result from an imbalance or deficiency in certain chemicals that regulate the efficiency with which the brain controls behavior. Smoking During Pregnancy - The finding of another possible cause stemmed from the observation that children of women who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Given that nicotine is known to cause hypoxia (too little oxygen) in the uterus, and that hypoxia causes brain damage, smoking during pregnancy could be an important contributing factor leading to ADHD (or a phenocopy). It may even help explain in part the increase in ADHD diagnoses, as the number of women smokers has increased. However, there are not nearly enough women smoking during pregnancy to account for all the ADHD diagnoses, and the mothers of many of those diagnosed with ADHD did not smoke during or before pregnancy. Nutrition - It has also been suggested that ADHD may be the result of a poor diet and other external factors. Recent studies have begun to find metabolic differences in these children, indicating that it is not so much a poor diet, as it may be an inability to handle certain elements of the diet. Sleep Apnea - There is also new evidence that brief pauses in breathing (apnea) during infancy may be a cause of ADHD. Dr. Glenda Keating of Emory University presented data at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in October 2004, showing that repetitive drops in blood oxygen levels in newborn rats similar to that caused by apnea in some human infants is followed by a long-lasting reduction in dopamine levels, associated with ADHD. Apnea occurs in up to 85% of prematurely born human infants. Though intriguing, these findings with rats would have to be replicated in humans to form any conclusive data. Treatments for ADHD The first-line medication used to treat ADHD are mostly stimulants, which work by stimulating the areas of the brain responsible for focus, attention, and impulse control.
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When diagnosed in
adults, it is regarded as adult attention-deficit disorder (AADD). It is
believed that anywhere between 30 to 70% of children diagnosed with ADHD
retain the disorder as adults