Abstract
Objective
To assess obesity rates during childhood and young adulthood in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) and age- and sex-matched controls derived from a population-based
birth cohort because cross-sectional studies suggest an association between ADHD and
obesity.
Patients and Methods
Study subjects included patients with childhood ADHD (n=336) and age- and sex-matched
non-ADHD controls (n=665) from a 1976 to 1982 birth cohort (N=5718). Height, weight,
and stimulant treatment measurements were abstracted retrospectively from medical
records documenting care provided from January 1, 1976, through August 31, 2010. The
association between ADHD and obesity in patients with ADHD relative to controls was
estimated using Cox models.
Results
Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were 1.23 (95% CI, 1.00-1.50;
P<.05) times more likely to be obese during the follow-up period than were non-ADHD
controls. This association was not statistically significant in either sex (female
participants: hazard ratio [HR], 1.49; 95% CI, 0.98-2.27; P=.06; male participants HR, 1.17, 95% CI, 0.92-1.48; P=.20). Patients with ADHD who were not obese as of the date ADHD research diagnostic
criteria were met were 1.56 (95% CI, 1.14-2.13; P<.01) times more likely to be obese during the subsequent follow-up than were controls.
This association was statistically significant in female study subjects (HR, 2.02;
95% CI, 1.13-3.60; P=.02), but not in male participants (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 0.97-2.05; P=.07). A higher proportion of patients with ADHD were obese after the age of 20 years
compared with non-ADHD controls (34.4% vs 25.1%; P=.01); this difference was observed only in female patients (41.6% vs 19.2%). There
were no differences in obesity rates between stimulant-treated and nontreated patients
with ADHD.
Conclusion
Childhood ADHD is associated with obesity during childhood and young adulthood in
females. Treatment with stimulant medications is not associated with the development
of obesity up to young adulthood.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), BMI (body mass index), HR (hazard ratio), IQR (interquartile range)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 04, 2016
Footnotes
Grant Support: This study was made possible by the Rochester Epidemiology Project (grant no. R01-AG034676; Principal Investigators: Walter A. Rocca, MD, MPH, and Jennifer St Sauver, PhD), and National Institute of Health Research Grants: HD29745 (Principal Investigator Slavica Katusic, MD) and AR 30582 (Principal Investigator William J Barberesi, MD).
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.
