Tara
06-03-03, 06:55 PM
http://www.health-news.co.uk/showstory.asp?id=112801
Prenatal smoking linked to ADHD
03 June 2003
LONDON
By Nick Lamb
Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, according to an international study.
Common lifestyle factors investigated
The findings were based on a systematic literature search on the evidence linking common lifestyle factors during pregnancy, such as tobacco, alcohol and caffeine use, maternal psychological stress, and the development of ADHD.
Previous studies in animals have shown that in-utero exposure to nicotine, caffeine, ethanol, or stress hormones – substances that can cross the placental barrier and reach the foetal brain – is related to neurobehavioural changes similar to ADHD symptoms in children.
Dr Karen Linnet, from Aarhus University Hospital in Skejby, Denmark – in collaboration with researchers from Sweden, Finland and the UK – examined whether prenatal exposure to these four substances increases the risk of ADHD in humans.
In their review, the team identified 24 studies on nicotine, nine on alcohol, one on caffeine and five on psychosocial stress that used DSM diagnostic criteria and other validated diagnostic or screening instruments for ADHD or symptoms of the disorder.
Although many studies had methodological problems, the evidence was strongest for a link between ADHD and prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke.
Contradictory findings were reported in the alcohol studies, and no conclusion could be reached based on the caffeine study. Although the results from studies on psychological stress were inconsistent, they indicated a possible modest contribution to ADHD symptoms in the offspring, the researchers said.
Writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the team conclude, “Because of these limitations, no sound conclusion can be drawn regarding the association between maternal lifestyle factors, and ADHD and ADHD symptoms in the offspring.
“However, there may be an association with exposure to tobacco smoke in utero,” they add.
Source: American Journal of Psychiatry
http://www.health-news.co.uk/showstory.asp?id=112801
Prenatal smoking linked to ADHD
03 June 2003
LONDON
By Nick Lamb
Exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, according to an international study.
Common lifestyle factors investigated
The findings were based on a systematic literature search on the evidence linking common lifestyle factors during pregnancy, such as tobacco, alcohol and caffeine use, maternal psychological stress, and the development of ADHD.
Previous studies in animals have shown that in-utero exposure to nicotine, caffeine, ethanol, or stress hormones – substances that can cross the placental barrier and reach the foetal brain – is related to neurobehavioural changes similar to ADHD symptoms in children.
Dr Karen Linnet, from Aarhus University Hospital in Skejby, Denmark – in collaboration with researchers from Sweden, Finland and the UK – examined whether prenatal exposure to these four substances increases the risk of ADHD in humans.
In their review, the team identified 24 studies on nicotine, nine on alcohol, one on caffeine and five on psychosocial stress that used DSM diagnostic criteria and other validated diagnostic or screening instruments for ADHD or symptoms of the disorder.
Although many studies had methodological problems, the evidence was strongest for a link between ADHD and prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke.
Contradictory findings were reported in the alcohol studies, and no conclusion could be reached based on the caffeine study. Although the results from studies on psychological stress were inconsistent, they indicated a possible modest contribution to ADHD symptoms in the offspring, the researchers said.
Writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the team conclude, “Because of these limitations, no sound conclusion can be drawn regarding the association between maternal lifestyle factors, and ADHD and ADHD symptoms in the offspring.
“However, there may be an association with exposure to tobacco smoke in utero,” they add.
Source: American Journal of Psychiatry
http://www.health-news.co.uk/showstory.asp?id=112801