Low Apgar Scores Linked with ADHD

In a population-based study, Apgar scores were inversely associated with risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Low Apgar scores have been linked with some neurological diseases, but whether low scores are associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is unknown. Investigators examined this association in a population-based cohort study of all 980,902 singleton births in Denmark during 1988 through 2001. Children were monitored from age 3 years until a diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder (an International Classification of Diseases diagnosis that includes core behavioral criteria consistent with ADHD), a first medication for ADHD, migration, death, or the year 2006. A total of 8234 children with ADHD were identified.

Five-minute Apgar scores were inversely associated with risk for ADHD in analysis adjusted for potential confounders in…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics