A University of California, Davis study has found that babies whose mothers are over 40 years old have twice the rate of autism. However, the research team reported that this does not mean that older parents are solely responsible for recent increases in autism cases.

In their report, the researchers noted that while the number of mothers over 40 in California has increased by 300 percent since the 1990s, autism has risen by over 600 percent. Older mothers are less than 5 percent of the population.

The UC study found that babies whose fathers are over 40 have a 59 percent increased risk for autism if their mothers are under 30, but no increased risk if their mothers are over 30 years.

Labels: autism, causes, parents

The Centers for Disease Control reports that ADHD diagnoses have increased an average of 3 percent a year since 1997. It is now estimated to be among the costliest of behavioral disorders, and recent research indicates that exposure to lead may be somewhat to blame.

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) reported the following:

Emerging research ... suggests an environmental link for ADHD with some experts believing lead may be a culprit. Lead is a neurotoxin. ... It's found in trace amounts in everything from children’s costume jewelry to imported candies to soil and drinking water. ...

According to psychological scientist Joel Nigg of the Oregon Health & Science University, this universal low-level exposure makes lead an ideal candidate for the disorder's trigger.

Until recently, this was just a theory, but studies have begun to find evidentiary support, the APS reported:

• One study found that children with ADHD did have slightly higher levels of lead in their blood.
  
• The second study found a strong link between elevated blood levels of lead and reporting of ADHD symptoms by parents and teachers.

Labels: causes, environment, lead

Several studies have focused on the potential effects tobacco and lead have separately on children. But now, a first-of-its-kind study has documented the risks of combined exposure.

"New research suggests exposure to both tobacco and lead my increase [a child’s] risk [for ADHD] by eight-fold." Florida's Ivanhoe Newswire reported. "A recent study from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center found a connection between ADHD, prenatal tobacco exposure and childhood exposure to lead."

Authors of the study believe prevention should be the focus, rather than treatment, the Newswire reported. Reducing exposure to tobacco and lead could decrease instances of ADHD in young people ages 8 to 15 by 35 percent (about 800,000 cases), according to the study.

Labels: causes, prevention

In an Oct. 30 blog post on the Psychology Today website, author Anneli Rufus described a possible link between celiac disease and ADHD.

According to the Mayo Clinic, celiac disease is "a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten … [that] can cause vitamin deficiencies that deprive your brain, peripheral nervous system, bones, liver and other organs of vital nourishment."

In her Psychology Today post, Rufus reported that a gluten-free diet may be able to minimize the impact of some ADHD symptoms:

"We have seen ... that nutrient deficiencies can lead to or exacerbate the onset of certain ADHD symptoms," reads a Stanford Wellsphere report. "For example, iron has been shown to be a useful supplement in treating certain underlying factors in ADHD. ...

It is thought that a celiac-disease-damaged system can contribute to iron deficiency, likely through impaired iron absorption, thus presenting a challenge to the ADHD patient. ...

A gluten-free diet (which, unfortunately, can be very difficult to administer due to the prevalence of wheat in the Western diet) has been shown to ameliorate most of these negative symptoms. A study done on celiac-disease patients and ADHD symptoms found that after treating patients with a gluten-free diet for six months, a number of ADHD-like symptoms subsided.

Labels: causes, celiac disease, diet

Though scientists and medical professionals continue to make significant strides in their understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, one piece of information remains unknown: the cause of the disorder.

According to a June 25 HealthDay News article, one of the reasons that experts have had trouble pinpointing the cause of ADHD may be that the disorder is the result of literally hundreds of genetic variations:

[Dr. Josephine Elia, a psychiatrist and ADHD expert at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia] and her colleagues analyzed genomes from 335 ADHD patients and their families, and compared them to more than 2,000 children without ADHD.

The hundreds of gene variations were found to occur more often in children with ADHD than in normal children. ...

"There may be hundreds of genes involved, only some of which are changed in each person. But if those genes act on similar pathways, you may end up with a similar result -- ADHD. This may also help to explain why children with ADHD often present clinically with slightly different symptoms," [study co-leader Peter S. White] said.

"When we began this study in 2003, we expected to find a handful of genes that predispose a child to ADHD," White said in the HealthDay article.

Labels: causes, genetics, research

A team of researchers from the University of Wales reviewed scientific studies on factors contributing to ADHD and found that sugar is not as much of a factor as many people think.

"ADHD...has a strong genetic link, with half the children born of parents with diagnosed ADHD likely to develop the disorder themselves. Chemical imbalances in the brain are also involved and studies have found that children with the condition have on average 4% smaller brains."

Because they know sugar is an energy source, parents often expect their kids to act more hyper and fidgety after having sugar - but that doesn't usually happen. While food allergies can sometimes cause ADHD-like behavior, they don't actually aggravate ADHD. Source: Huliq.com.

Labels: causes, diet, sugar

Though it's relatively easy to find information on how to treat ADHD, information for making an accurate diagnosis is harder to come by. To that end, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health has launched what's being called an "unprecedented" study to find causes and early warning signs of ADHD among pre-school age children.

"ADHD is frequently diagnosed but little is known about the causes, despite all the published research. Today there are no diagnostic criteria for ADHD in children under 6 years of age. The ADHD study intends to address many unanswered questions around the causes of this condition."

What makes the study unique is that researchers have access fetal and early infancy biological information, including blood samples from both parents and the child's umbilical cord. The samples will allow for testing of both genetic and environmental links to ADHD. Read more at MediLexicon.com.

Labels: causes, diagnosis, research

Suspicions have loomed for years about a possible link between ADHD and artificial food colors and additives. But now, a research team from Great Britain has scientific proof that such a link exists.

"For the study the researchers distributed drinks for a six week period, containing preservatives and colors similar to those mixed in common commercial drinks to a group of 153 three-year-old children and 144 eight- and nine year-olds who had been selected at random."

Children were given either a drink with the food colors and additives or a placebo. Teachers and parents were then asked to evaluate their behavior. The children who were given the given the drinks with food coloring and additives were found be more hyperactive and had shorter attention spans.

At the Aspen Institute, children can get an educational evaluation, a psychosocial evaluation, and a behavioral assessment. Visit www.aspenassessment.com to learn more.

Labels: causes, food_additives, food_coloring