Effects of comorbid ADHD with learning disabilities on anxiety, depression, and aggression in adults

Objective: ADHD and learning disabilities (LD) frequently coexist and there are indications that comorbidity may increase the risk of psychopathology. Method: The current study examined the gender distribution and frequency of comorbidity and its impact on the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety,&nbsp; depression, and aggression in a clinic sample of 80 adults with ADHD, aged 18 to 58 years. More individuals were diagnosed with ADHD+LD than ADHD only, with no difference in this distribution according to gender. Results: A factorial multivariate analysis of variance indicated that females with ADHD+LD displayed more cognitive depression than females with ADHD only and than males with ADHD+LD and ADHD only. However,individuals with ADHD only and individuals with ADHD+LD did not differ on overall anxiety, depression or aggression. Likewise, males and females did not differ on measures of psychopathology. Conclusion: This study lays the foundation for continued research into the characteristics and comorbidities of adults with ADHD.<br /

Corrigendum: Cigarette smoking progression among young adults diagnosed with ADHD in Childhood: A 16-year longitudinal study of children with and without ADHD (Nicotine and Tobacco Research (2018) DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nty045)

Corrections have been made throughout the article to clarify how daily smoking during the 12- through 16-year assessments was defined in the original report. In this corrigendum, daily smoking during these assessments was defined by participant's responding either (a) once a day or more in response to In the past year, how often did you smoke cigarettes? or (b) responding yes to Are you currently a daily smoker? The authors repeated their analyses and this updated definition of daily smoking did not change findings in terms of statistical significance for Aims 1, 2, or 3 with one exception. In Aim 2, the initiation age (linear) by childhood ADHD status interaction was significant in this correction (p=.025), indicating that progression to daily smoking was faster for LNCG participants who initiated smoking at an older age than ADHD participants. For instance, mean latency was 5.61 years (SD=3.28) for ADHD participants and 5.29 (SD=3.22) for LNCG participants who initiated at 17 year-old or younger, but 2.14 (SD=2.26) for ADHD participants and 1.20 (SD=1.23) for LNCG participants who initiated at 18 years-old and older. This re-analysis did not impact the main findings from this study. This corrigendum includes updated values in the main article and supplemental material based on how we operationalize daily smoking status between 12- through 16-year assessments. The authors also clarify that for the 2- through 10-year assessments, participants were coded as daily smokers if they smoked at least one cigarette per day in response to During the past month, how many cigarettes have you smoked on an average day? The authors also clarify in this correction that weekly smoking in Aim 1 analysis was defined as those who responded once a week or more in response to In the past year, how often did you smoke cigarettes? These two clarifications did not require any re-analysis

Cigarette Smoking Progression Among Young Adults Diagnosed With ADHD in Childhood: A 16-year Longitudinal Study of Children With and Without ADHD

INTRODUCTION: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for smoking cigarettes, but there is little longitudinal research on the array of smoking characteristics known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcomes into adulthood. These variables were studied into early adulthood in a multisite sample diagnosed with ADHD combined type at ages 7-9.9 and followed prospectively alongside an age- and sex-matched local normative comparison group (LNCG). METHODS: Cigarette smoking quantity, quit attempts, dependence, and other characteristics were assessed in the longitudinal Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) eight times to a mean age of 24.9 years: ADHD n = 469; LNCG n = 240. RESULTS: In adulthood, the ADHD group had higher rates of daily cigarette smoking, one or more quit attempts, shorter time to first cigarette of the day, and more severe withdrawal than the LNCG. The ADHD group did not appear to have better smoking cessation rates despite a higher proportion quitting at least once. Smoking quantity and nicotine dependence did not differ between groups. The ADHD group reported younger daily smoking onset and faster progression from smoking initiation to daily smoking across assessments. Finally, ADHD symptom severity in later adolescence and adulthood was associated with higher risk for daily smoking across assessments in the ADHD sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that ADHD-related smoking risk begins at a young age, progresses rapidly, and becomes resistant to cessation attempts by adulthood. Prevention efforts should acknowledge the speed of uptake; treatments should target the higher relapse risk in this vulnerable population. IMPLICATIONS: Although childhood ADHD predicts later smoking, longitudinal studies of this population have yet to fully characterize smoking behaviors into adulthood that are known to be prognostic of long-term smoking outcome. The current study demonstrates earlier and faster progression to daily smoking among those with a childhood ADHD diagnosis, as well as greater risk for failed quit attempts. Prevention efforts should address speed of smoking uptake, while treatments are needed that address smoking relapse risk. The current study also demonstrates ADHD symptom severity over development increases daily smoking risk, implicating the need for continuous ADHD symptom management