Are cognitive deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder related to the course of the disorder? A prospective controlled follow-up study of grown up boys with persistent and remitting course

Biederman, Joseph; Petty, Carter R.; Ball, Sarah W.; Fried, Ronna; Doyle, Alysa E.; Cohen, Daniel; Henderson, Carly; Faraone, Stephen V.

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2008.09.010

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research
Volume 170, Issue 2 , Pages 177-182, 30 December 2009

Are cognitive deficits in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder related to the course of the disorder? A prospective controlled follow-up study of grown up boys with persistent and remitting course

Joseph Biederman
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
- Corresponding author. Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit, Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care-YAW-6A-6900, 32 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. Tel.: +1 617 726 1743; fax: +1 617 724 1540.
Carter R. Petty
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Sarah W. Ball
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Ronna Fried
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Alysa E. Doyle
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Daniel Cohen
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Carly Henderson
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Boston, MA, USA
Stephen V. Faraone
- SUNY Upstate Medical University, Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience & Physiology, Syracuse, NY, USA

Received 28 February 2008; received in revised form 12 September 2008; accepted 30 September 2008.

Abstract

To investigate the longitudinal course of cognitive functions in boys with persistent and remittent attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from childhood into young adult years. Males (n=217) 15–31 years with and without ADHD were assessed at 3 time points over 10 years into young adulthood. Subjects were stratified into Remittent ADHD, and Persistent ADHD based on the course of ADHD. Cognitive domains included: 1) overall IQ (overall IQ, block design IQ, vocabulary IQ); 2) achievement scores in reading and math and measures of executive function (Wechsler arithmetic, digit span, digit symbol, Rey–Osterrieth, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and the Stroop Test). Cognitive outcomes were modeled as a function of group (Controls, Remittent ADHD, and Persistent ADHD), age, group by age interaction, and any demographic confounders using linear growth-curve models. There were no significant interaction effects of group by time. Main group effects indicated that persistent and remittent ADHD groups both had significantly lower scores on all cognitive outcomes compared with controls, and these did not differ between the ADHD subgroups Psychometrically defined cognitive deficits are relatively stable into young adult years and appear to be independent of the course of ADHD. More work is needed to help define the implications of these deficits in individuals with a remitting course of ADHD.