Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

McGill Journal of Medicine, 2(8), 2020

DOI: 10.26443/mjm.v8i2.502

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Obstetric complications in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning disability

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

Full text: Download

Question mark in circle
Preprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Postprint: policy unknown
Question mark in circle
Published version: policy unknown

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether children with ADHD and learning disabilities (LD) have a significant history of obstetrical complications when compared to children with ADHD but without LD. Methods: Sixty-four children aged 6 to 12 years diagnosed with ADHD were assessed for a history of obstetrical complications using the Kinney medical and gynecological questionnaire. Learning ability was appraised using the Wide-Range Achievement Test (WRAT-R) for anglophone students and the "Test de Rendement Français" for francophone students. Results: Children with ADHD and a learning disability in mathematics had a higher rate of neonatal complications of great severity (p = 0.01) than children with ADHD and no disability in mathematics. Children with ADHD and a learning disability in reading also had a preponderance of neonatal complications of high severity (p = 0.02) compared to their peers with ADHD and no learning disability in reading. Children with ADHD and learning disability tend to have a significant history of neonatal complications, which validates the theory that complications in early life could adversely affect a child's academic ability later in life. This further confirms the importance of the perinatal and postnatal periods in CNS development of brain regions essential for mathematics and reading ability.