Longitudinal Associations Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity and Weight From Birth to Adolescence - 29/09/25
, Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD a, b, c, d, e, Dennis Golm, PhD a, Valerie Brandt, PhD a, fAbstract |
Objective |
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with lower birth weight, but also with obesity in childhood. Findings on the direction of this association are mixed. This study investigated the relationship between weight and ADHD from birth across development.
Method |
We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), collected at 7 time points between age 9 months and 17 years. ADHD diagnosis status and scores on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to create an ADHD group and a control group. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models were conducted in female individuals (n = 4,051) and male individuals (n = 3,857) to examine bidirectional associations between body mass index (BMI) z scores and SDQ scores between ages 3 and 17 years. Analyses were adjusted for common risk factors for ADHD and obesity, such as sex assigned at birth, multiple births, and ADHD medication status.
Results |
Children in the ADHD group were significantly lighter in weight at birth than the control group (t[5674] = 2.65, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.14, p = .008) and were significantly more likely to have obesity at age 5 years onward (odds ratio range = 1.57-2.46, relative risk range 0.98-2.29). Path analyses conducted separately for male and female individuals showed that higher ADHD symptoms in female individuals at ages 7, 11, and 14 years significantly predicted higher BMI z scores at ages 11, 14, and 17 years, respectively. In male individuals, this association was seen only between ages 11 and 14 years (β = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.04-0.10, p < .001).
Conclusion |
Results suggest that interventions for children with ADHD, and their parents, should begin as soon as possible, ideally prenatally. Developmental sex differences should be considered.
Plain language summary |
In this study, the authors used data from the Millennium Cohort Study to examine the associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and weight. The authors found that children with ADHD were typically lighter at birth than a control group, but were also 1.5 – 2.5 times more likely to have obesity from ages 5 to 17. Separate analyses for males and females found that higher ADHD symptoms in females at ages 7, 11, and 14 predicted higher body mass index (BMI) at ages 11, 14, and 17, whereas this association was only seen in males between ages 11 and 14.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key words : ADHD, obesity, environmental factors, ADHD medication
Plan
| The authors have reported no funding for this work. |
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| The research was performed with permission from the University of Southampton Ethics Board. |
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| Data Sharing: Data and data dictionaries available through UK Data Service. |
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| The authors are grateful to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), UCL Social Research Institute, for the use of these data and to the UK Data Service for making them available. However, neither CLS nor the UK Data Service bear any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of these data. |
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| Disclosure: Claire Reed was awarded a travel grant from the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) for travel to the 36th Congress. Samuele Cortese, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Professor (NIHR303122), has received funding from the NIHR for this research project. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS, or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Samuele Cortese is also supported by NIHR grants NIHR203684, NIHR203035, NIHR130077, NIHR128472, RP-PG-0618-20003, and by grant 101095568-HORIZONHLTH- 2022-DISEASE-07-03 from the European Research Executive Agency. He has declared reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses from the Association for Child and Adolescent Central Health (ACAMH) in relation to lectures delivered for ACAMH, the Canadian AADHD Alliance Resource, the British Association of Psychopharmacology, and from Healthcare Convention for educational activity on ADHD, and has received honoraria from Medice. He is joint editor for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) and he is on the advisory board of JCPP Advances. Dennis Golm has received honoraria from CoramBAAF as Editor-in-Chief of Adoption & Fostering. Valerie Brandt has acknowledged financial support from the Academy of Medical Sciences and is supported by a Medical Research Council grant (MR/Z505055/1). |
Vol 64 - N° 10
P. 1192-1200 - octobre 2025 Retour au numéro
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