Children & Pregnancy | Renegade Neurologist

Our Site Network	Dr. Perlmutter »	Renegade Neurologist »	Perlmutter Health Center »

ADHD and Obesity: Is There a Link?

August 13th, 2010

There are many behaviors seen in children and adults with ADHD that just make sense, when you consider that the core symptoms are, among other things, inattention, impulsivity, distractibility and more. People with ADHD typically are sensory seeking, even though it may not always look that way, especially if the individual has the inattentive sub-type.

For example, many who are impulsive might find themselves having problems in the area of high risk behaviors, such as brief but many sexual encounters, over-spending, and gambling.

A hyperactive individual might get involved in dangerous activities like car racing. Or they might have an exercise addiction.

An inattentive person’s need for stimuli might be harder to see, but usually it’s there. It might be seen in the areas of internet, TV or even video game addiction.

Those who study ADHD and addictions have begun to look at the connection between eating disorders and ADHD and lately and more specifically, ADHD and obesity. For many, eating can be either stimulating or sedating…or even both.

There have been a few studies in recent years showing a correlation between obesity in children/adolescents and having ADHD. However, there has been little research on the possible link between ADHD and obesity in adults.

A new study, recently published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders, explored why some adults have difficulty staying on weight loss programs. The researchers at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto (Canada) administered ADHD tests to 75 women who had been referred to an obesity clinic. The average age of the women was 40 and the average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 43, which is considered to be in the severely obese range.
The ADHD tests included self-reports of retrospective childhood symptoms and a rating of current ADHD symptoms.

Their findings were interesting. Compared to the general population, the researchers found that 26.6% of the obese subjects were classified as having ADHD, whereas in the general population, 3-5% of adults are known to have ADHD. The researchers found the statistics significant.
Researchers J.P. Fleming and colleagues wrote: “While the current study does not allow us to ascertain the cause of the deficit, it is striking that a very high percentage of this sample of severely obese women report very substantial problems with the set of symptoms that we classify as reflecting ADHD.”

What prompted the study was an observation that a significant number of obese clients had tremendous difficulty keeping accurate records of their diet planning- planning and preparing their meals- as well as eating and exercising regularly. These observations prompted the team to research the reasons behind this, thus the discovery of the ADHD/obesity connection.

The researchers noted that, “while the current study does not allow us to ascertain the cause of the deficit, it is striking that a very high percentage of this sample of severely obese women report very substantial problems with the set of symptoms that we classify as reflecting ADHD.”

Rate of Autism Disorders Climbs to One Percent Among 8-Year-Olds

January 10th, 2010

From ScienceDaily.com:

Autism and related development disorders are becoming more common, with a prevalence rate approaching 1 percent among American 8-year-olds, according to new data from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The study is a partnership between UAB, the CDC and 10 other U.S. research sites. It shows that one in 110 American 8-year-olds is classified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a 57 percent increase in ASD cases compared to four years earlier.

The new findings, published Dec. 18 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), highlight the need for social and educational services to help those affected by the condition, said Beverly Mulvihill, Ph.D., a UAB associate professor of public health and co-author on the study.

ASDs are a group of developmental disabilities such as autism and Asperger disorder that are characterized by delays or changes in childhood socialization, communication and behavior.

“This is a dramatic increase in the number of kids classified as autistic or documented on the spectrum of similar disorders,” Mulvihill said. “It is not entirely clear what is causing the rise, but we know major collaborative efforts are needed to improve the understanding and lives of people and families impacted.”

The MMWR study discusses possible factors that might contribute to the increase in ASD cases. They include a broader definition of autism disorders and a heightened awareness of ASD by parents, doctors, educators and other professionals. The findings do not address whether or not any of the increase is attributable to a true increase in the risk of developing ASD, more frequent and earlier diagnoses, and other factors.

Data comes from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, a collection of 11 sites in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. ADDM reviewers are uniformly trained to review and confirm cases; some children included in the study have documented ASD symptoms but never received a diagnosis.

The study also found that boys are 4.5 times more likely than girls to have ASD, a finding that confirms earlier studies, says Martha Wingate, Dr.P.H., a UAB assistant professor of public health and study co-author.

“It still is not clear why males more frequently are affected,” Wingate said. “One thing we know for sure is that more research is needed to quantify the effects of single or multiple factors such as diagnosis patterns, inclusion of milder cases and other components.”

The ADDM sites are not selected based on any statistical pattern, but the 300,000-plus children included in the study represent 8 percent of the nation’s 8-year-olds.

Eating Licorice In Pregnancy May Affect A Child’s IQ And Behavior

December 5th, 2009

From ScienceDaily.com:

Expectant mothers who eat excessive quantities of licorice during pregnancy could adversely affect their child’s intelligence and behavior, a study has shown.

A study of eight year old children whose mothers ate large amounts of licorice when pregnant found they did not perform as well as other youngsters in cognitive tests.
They were also more likely to have poor attention spans and show disruptive behavior such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
It is thought that a component in licorice called glycyrrhizin may impair the placenta, allowing stress hormones to cross from the mother to the baby.
High levels of such hormones, known as glucocorticoids, are thought to affect fetal brain development and have been linked to behavioral disorders in children.
The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Eight-year-olds whose mothers had been monitored for licorice consumption during pregnancy were tested on a range of cognitive functions including vocabulary, memory and spatial awareness.
Behavior was assessed using an in-depth questionnaire completed by the mother, which is also used by clinicians to evaluate children’s behavior.
The study, carried out by the University of Helsinki and the University of Edinburgh, looked at children born in Finland, where consumption of licorice among young women is common.
Professor Jonathan Seckl, from the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science, said: “This shows that eating licorice during pregnancy may affect a child’s behavior or IQ and suggests the importance of the placenta in preventing stress hormones that may affect cognitive development getting through to the baby.”
Women who ate more than 500mg of glycyrrhizin per week – found in the equivalent of 100g of pure licorice – were more likely to have children with lower intelligence levels and more behavioral problems.
“Expectant mothers should avoid eating excessive amounts of licorice,” said Professor Katri Räikkönen, from the University of Helsinki’s Department of Psychology.
Of the children who took part in the study, 64 were exposed to high levels of glycyrrhizin in licorice, 46 to moderate levels and 211 to low levels.
The research followed on from a study which showed that licorice consumption was also linked to shorter pregnancies. Laboratory studies have also shown a link between the placenta not working to prevent stress hormones from passing through to the fetus, as well as a link to cardiac and metabolic disorders and behavioral problems in later life.

Lead, Tobacco Exposure Linked to ADHD

November 25th, 2009

Health Risks Seen in Prenatal Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Childhood Lead Exposure

From WebMD.com:

Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke and childhood exposure to lead are linked to increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD) in children, a new study shows.

The study is published in the December issue of Pediatrics.

Researchers led by Tanya E. Froehlich, MD, MS, of the department of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, analyzed data of prenatal tobacco and childhood lead exposure in the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a representative sample of U.S. children aged 8 to 15.

Prenatal tobacco exposure was measured by reports of cigarette use during pregnancy, and childhood lead exposure was assessed by blood levels.

The researchers say they found that young people exposed prenatally to tobacco smoke were 2.4 times more likely to have ADHD, and that those with blood levels in the top third of the population had a 2.3-fold increased likelihood of ADHD diagnosis.

The combined effect from both toxicants was even greater. Children with both exposures had a more than eightfold increased chance of having ADHD, compared to youths who weren’t exposed to either, the researchers say.

The authors say their study is the first to determine the independent effects of tobacco smoke and lead on ADHD in a nationally representative sample, and contend it provides the first estimate of joint effects of the two common toxicants.

The researchers examined data on 2,588 youngsters from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2004 and 8.7% met criteria for diagnosis with ADHD. “Our findings suggest that reduction of toxicant exposures may be an important avenue for ADHD prevention and they underscore the enormous burden that may be associated with continued exposure to tobacco and lead,” the researchers conclude.

Babies Cry with Accent of Parents

November 16th, 2009

From DBTechno.com:

It maybe possible to actually distinguish which country a baby is from simply from hearing him or her cry.
Results of a new study suggest that after only 3 days of birth, a baby’s cry begins to take on the accent of its parents.
For the study, researchers compared the cries of newborn French and German babies, to try to determine if they could distinguish any indication of language of the parents of each child.
In total, 60 babies were analyzed for the study, with the researchers analyzing their crying patterns, pitch and other relevant factors.
All the babies were born healthy and born after full term.
Babies born into French families had a cry which included a rising melody contour, with German babies crying in a way speech and language experts refer to as a falling melody contour.
A rising melody contour means that the cry went from low to high, and a falling melody contour means the opposite.
This study proves that infants are very receptive, even at a very early age when it comes to adapting to their environment.