Skip to main content
Full access
Perspectives
Published Online: 1 December 2012

The Nature of the Association Between Childhood ADHD and the Development of Bipolar Disorder: A Review of Prospective High-Risk Studies

Abstract

Objective

The author reviewed prospective longitudinal studies of the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder to inform our understanding of the nature of the association between childhood ADHD and the risk of developing bipolar disorder in adolescence and young adulthood.

Method

A literature review of published prospective cohort studies of the offspring of bipolar parents since 1985 was undertaken using a comprehensive search strategy in several electronic databases. The author provides a qualitative synthesis of results focusing on ADHD and the association with bipolar disorder in prospectively assessed high-risk offspring. These results are discussed in light of findings from other prospective epidemiological and clinical cohort studies.

Results

From the reviewed high-risk studies, evidence suggests that the clinical diagnosis of childhood ADHD is not a reliable predictor of the development of bipolar disorder. However, the author found evidence that symptoms of inattention may be part of a mixed clinical presentation during the early stages of evolving bipolar disorder in high-risk offspring, appearing alongside anxiety and depressive symptoms. The author also found preliminary evidence that childhood ADHD may form part of a neurodevelopmental phenotype in offspring at risk for developing a subtype of bipolar disorder unresponsive to lithium stabilization.

Conclusions

While childhood ADHD does not appear to be part of the typical developmental illness trajectory of bipolar disorder, subjective problems with attention can form part of the early course, while neurodevelopmental abnormalities may be antecedents in a subgroup of high-risk children.

Formats available

You can view the full content in the following formats:

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
Go to American Journal of Psychiatry
American Journal of Psychiatry
Pages: 1247 - 1255
PubMed: 23212056

History

Received: 24 November 2011
Revision received: 16 April 2012
Revision received: 9 May 2012
Revision received: 22 May 2012
Accepted: 29 May 2012
Published online: 1 December 2012
Published in print: December 2012

Authors

Details

Anne Duffy, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Notes

Address correspondence to Dr. Duffy ([email protected]).

Funding Information

Dr. Duffy has received personal support awards from the Brain and Behaviour Research Foundation (NARSAD Young and Intermediate Investigator Awards), from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Young Investigator Award), and from the Canada Research Chairs Program.Supported by an operating grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP 102761).

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard

View Options

View options

PDF/EPUB

View PDF/EPUB

Full Text

View Full Text

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login
Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share