Schloß Susan, Ruhl Isabelle, Müller Viola, Becker Katja, Skoluda Nadine, Nater Urs M, Pauli-Pott Ursula
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Clinical Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Dev Psychobiol. 2018 Sep;60(6):722-729. doi: 10.1002/dev.21627. Epub 2018 Mar 23.
Previous research demonstrated hypoactivity of the HPA axis in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or externalizing symptoms. We analyzed the predictive association between the long-term HPA axis activity and increasing symptoms of ADHD in the preschool period. The sample consisted of n = 125 4-year-old children and their families (including n = 64 children with elevated ADHD symptoms). ADHD symptoms were assessed by a structured clinical interview with the mother and by parent- and teacher-report questionnaires. The long-term HPA axis activity was assessed by the hair cortisol concentration (HCC) (over a 3-month period). After controlling for potential confounders, low HCC predicted an increase in ADHD symptoms between the age of 4 and 5 years. Exploration of gender effects revealed that cross-sectional and predictive associations were significant in boys but not in girls. Low HCC might thus be regarded as an early marker of a possibly gender-related developmental pathway to ADHD.
先前的研究表明，患有注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）或外化症状的儿童存在下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴功能减退。我们分析了学龄前儿童长期HPA轴活动与ADHD症状加重之间的预测关联。样本包括n = 125名4岁儿童及其家庭（其中n = 64名ADHD症状加重的儿童）。通过与母亲进行结构化临床访谈以及家长和教师报告问卷来评估ADHD症状。通过头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）（在3个月期间）评估长期HPA轴活动。在控制潜在混杂因素后，低HCC预测4至5岁之间ADHD症状会增加。对性别效应的探索表明，横断面和预测关联在男孩中显著，但在女孩中不显著。因此，低HCC可能被视为ADHD可能的性别相关发育途径的早期标志物。
