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Neuropsychological functioning in relatives of girls with and without ADHD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2005

ALYSA E. DOYLE ,
JOSEPH BIEDERMAN ,
LARRY J. SEIDMAN ,
JENNIFER J. RESKE-NIELSEN  and
STEPHEN V. FARAONE
ALYSA E. DOYLE
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
JOSEPH BIEDERMAN
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
LARRY J. SEIDMAN
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
JENNIFER J. RESKE-NIELSEN
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
STEPHEN V. FARAONE
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Abstract

Background. A limited number of studies have examined neuropsychological functioning in the family members of ADHD youth, and none have focused exclusively on relatives of females.

Method. Structured diagnostic interviews and neuropsychological batteries were administered to parents and siblings enrolled in a family study of girls with and without ADHD. Relatives were stratified into three groups: relatives of DSM-IV ADHD probands with ADHD (n=106), relatives of ADHD probands without ADHD (n=189) and relatives of controls without ADHD (n=243). Analyses were also conducted on a subgroup of families in which more than one member had ADHD.

Results. The neuropsychological battery as a whole distinguished affected and unaffected ADHD relatives from controls. The Wechsler Oral Arithmetic subtest, the Stroop Word, Color and Color-Word subscales were impaired in affected ADHD relatives, as were the WRAT-R Arithmetic and Reading subtests. Only the Stroop Color-Word and Interference subtests and the WRAT-R Arithmetic subtest showed significant impairments in unaffected relatives. In multiplex families, additional impairments were found in unaffected relatives on the Stroop Color subtest and the Wechsler Oral Arithmetic subtest. Analyses based on DSM-III-R diagnoses produced nearly identical results. Minor differences emerged across relatives of probands with different DSM-IV subtypes.

Conclusions. Data were consistent with our previous study of relatives of boys with ADHD. Neuropsychological impairments in relatives of female ADHD probands were primarily associated with the diagnosis of ADHD, but subtle cognitive impairments that index familial vulnerability to the disorder may exist.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 8 , August 2005 , pp. 1121 - 1132
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Portions of this paper were presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Miami, FL, 16 October 2003.