Youngest children in class with ADHD as likely to keep diagnosis in adulthood as older pupils, find scientists
- Date:
- October 26, 2023
- Source:
- University of Southampton
- Summary:
- Youngest children in their class with ADHD are just as likely to keep the diagnosis when enter adulthood as older pupils in their year group. In the past, scientists have questioned the validity of ADHD in younger pupils, arguing they are only diagnosed because they are less mature than their peers. But this study shows that these children are no more likely to lose ADHD diagnosis over time than those born towards the start of the school year.
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Children who are the youngest in their class to be identified with ADHD are just as likely to keep the diagnosis as older pupils in their year group, scientists have found.
Experts from the University of Southampton and Paris Nanterre University, working with researchers worldwide, made the discovery after examining data from thousands of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
In the past, scientists have questioned the validity of an ADHD diagnosis in younger pupils -- arguing they receive it because they are less mature than those born towards the start of the school year.
But the study, published in Lancet Psychiatry, revealed children who are the youngest in the class and get diagnosed with the condition were still as likely to retain it later on as their older peers.
Senior lead author Professor Samuele Cortese, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Southampton, said: "We know the youngest children in their year group are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD -- but many believe this is because they lag behind their older classmates.
"However, no one has ever explored if these younger children who are diagnosed with ADHD retain the diagnosis later on -- until now. Our study shows for the first time that these youngsters are no more likely to lose the diagnosis over time than older children."
Around 360 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the World Health Organisation, with around a third under the age of 18.
Symptoms include impulsiveness, disorganisation, poor time management skills, difficulty focusing and restlessness.
The study by Southampton and Paris Nanterre, undertaken with 161 scientists worldwide, was based on the largest data set ever created to explore the effect of month of birth on the persistence of ADHD.
In total, it examined data from more than 6,500 patients globally who have been followed up for a period between the ages of four and 33 years old.
Dr Corentin Gosling, an associate professor from the University Paris Nanterre in France and visiting researcher at Southampton, was the first author on the study.
He said: "Our work shows the diagnosis of ADHD in children with a young relative age is not especially unstable.
"However, it could not assess whether it is an appropriate diagnosis or it is because, once a child receives the ADHD label, parents and teachers consider the child as having ADHD and are influenced by the diagnosis. Future studies should solve this question."
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Materials provided by University of Southampton. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Corentin J Gosling, Serge Caparos, Charlotte Pinabiaux, Guido Schwarzer, Gerta Rücker, Sharifah S Agha, Hekmat Alrouh, Antony Ambler, Peter Anderson, Ainara Andiarena, L Eugene Arnold, Louise Arseneault, Philip Asherson, Leslie Babinski, Vittoria Barbati, Russel Barkley, Aluisio J D Barros, Fernando Barros, John E Bates, Laura J Bell, Carmen Berenguer, Elsje van Bergen, Joseph Biederman, Boris Birmaher, Tormod Bøe, Dorret I Boomsma, Valerie C Brandt, Rodrigo A Bressan, Karin Brocki, Thomas R Broughton, Sara J Bufferd, Regina Bussing, Meng Cao, Ariane Cartigny, Ana Miranda Casas, Avshalom Caspi, F Xavier Castellanos, Arthur Caye, Luise Cederkvist, Stephan Collishaw, William E Copeland, Sylvana M Cote, William L Coventry, Nanette M.M. Mol Debes, Hayley Denyer, Kenneth A Dodge, Hicran Dogru, Daryl Efron, Jami Eller, Marwa Abd Elmaksoud, Eyup Sabri Ercan, Stephen V Faraone, Michelle Fenesy, Mariana F Fernández, Ana Fernández-Somoano, Robert Findling, Eric Fombonne, Ingrid N Fossum, Carmen Freire, Naomi P Friedman, Mary A Fristad, Cedric Galera, Miguel Garcia-Argibay, Cynthia S Garvan, Llúcia González-Safont, Annabeth P Groenman, Mònica Guxens, Jeffrey M Halperin, Randah R Hamadeh, Catharina A Hartman, Shirley Y Hill, Stephen P Hinshaw, Alison Hipwell, Laura Hokkanen, Nathalie Holz, Carmen Íñiguez, Haitham A Jahrami, Pauline W Jansen, Lilja K Jónsdóttir, Jordi Julvez, Anna Kaiser, Kate Keenan, Daniel N Klein, Rachel G Klein, Jonna Kuntsi, Joshua Langfus, Kate Langley, Jennifer E Lansford, Sally A Larsen, Henrik Larsson, Evelyn Law, Steve S Lee, Nerea Lertxundi, Xiaobo Li, Yueling Li, Paul Lichtenstein, Jianghong Liu, Astri J Lundervold, Sebastian Lundström, David J Marks, Joanna Martin, Gabriele Masi, Alicia Matijasevich, Maria Melchior, Terrie E Moffitt, Maximilian Monninger, Claire L Morrison, Melissa Mulraney, Pietro Muratori, Phuc T Nguyen, Jan M Nicholson, Merete Glenne Øie, Sarah O'Neill, Cliodhna O'Connor, Massimiliano Orri, Pedro M Pan, Leona Pascoe, Gregory S Pettit, Jolie Price, Marisa Rebagliato, Isolina Riaño-Galán, Luis A Rohde, Glenn I Roisman, Maria Rosa, Jerrold F Rosenbaum, Giovanni A Salum, Sara Sammallahti, Ina S Santos, Nella S Schiavone, Lorrie Schmid, Emma Sciberras, Philip Shaw, Tim J Silk, Jeffry A Simpson, Erik W Skogli, Stephanie Stepp, Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, Gustavo Sudre, Jordi Sunyer, Mini Tandon, Anita Thapar, Phoebe Thomson, Lisa B Thorell, Hannah Tinchant, Maties Torrent, Luciana Tovo-Rodrigues, Gail Tripp, Obioha Ukoumunne, Stephanie HM Van Goozen, Melissa Vos, Solène Wallez, Yufeng Wang, Franz G Westermaier, Diana J Whalen, Yuliya Yoncheva, Eric A Youngstrom, Kapil Sayal, Marco Solmi, Richard Delorme, Samuele Cortese. Association between relative age at school and persistence of ADHD in prospective studies: an individual participant data meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00272-9
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