1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«While there are a large number of studies that have compared parents of children having ADHD [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder] with parents of those who do not, to the best of our knowledge, no study has compared frequency of psychopathology in parents of children with ADHD stratified according to whether or not the mothers smoked during pregnancy. Given the observation that children in this subgroup present with a more severe clinical and cognitive phenotype, it is important to examine psychopathology in the parents to gain better insight into the etiology of the disorder in this group.» (p. 123)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«We hypothesize that parents of children with ADHD who smoked during pregnancy will have higher rates of psychopathology, and test this hypothesis in the current study.» (p. 123)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Subjects included in the current study were a subset of the total sample of children who have participated in the ongoing Pharmaco-behavioral genetic (PBG) study conducted at the Douglas Mental Health Research Institute (DMHRI, Montréal, QC, Canada). […] From the time the study was initiated (November 1999) to the present, 700 children, their parent(s) and siblings (if any) have participated.» (p. 124)

Instruments :
- Kinney Medical and Gynecological Questionnaire
- Family Interview for Genetic Studies (FIGS)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The main finding of this study is that both parents of children with ADHD in families where the mother smoked during the entire gestational period were more likely to have antisocial personality disorder and alcohol/drug abuse. While mothers had a significantly higher frequency of MDD [major depressive disorder], fathers showed a trend for mood disorders (both MDD and bipolar disorder). […] Also consistent with earlier reports, we observed that mothers who smoke during pregnancy show a higher frequency of depression. Furthermore, it is interesting to see a trend for mood disorders (both MDD and bipolar disorder) in fathers of this group. […] Taken together, these studies suggest that children exposed to MSDP [maternal smoking during pregnancy] represent a distinct subtype of ADHD, characterized by a more severe clinical presentation as well as higher frequency of externalizing problems (including conduct disorder), and are at risk for later antisocial personality disorder, substance abuse, and mood disorders.» (p. 125-127)