This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (30)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Neurology  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder  • Alert me on articles by topic

Dale C. Hesdorffer, PhD; Petur Ludvigsson, MD; Elias Olafsson, MD; Gunnar Gudmundsson, MD; Olafur Kjartansson, MD; W. Allen Hauser, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:731-736.

Background  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurs more frequently than expected in prevalent cohorts with epilepsy. The association has been attributed to the epilepsy or its treatment, although it is impossible to determine in previous studies which condition occurs first.

Objectives  To conduct a population-based case-control study of all newly diagnosed unprovoked seizures among Icelandic children younger than 16 years to address the question of time order.

Design  Children with seizures were matched to the next 2 same-sex births from the population registry. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children was used to make a DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD in a standardized fashion among cases and controls aged 3 to 16 years.

Results  A history of ADHD was 2.5-fold more common among children with newly diagnosed seizures than among control subjects (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-5.5). The association was restricted to ADHD predominantly inattentive type (odds ratio [OR], 3.7; 95% CI, 1.1-12.8), not ADHD predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.6-5.7) or ADHD combined type (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 0.3-18.3). Seizure type, etiology, sex, or seizure frequency at diagnosis (1 or >1) did not affect findings.

Conclusion  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder occurs more often than expected before unprovoked seizures, suggesting a common antecedent for both conditions.

From the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (Drs Hesdorffer, Olafsson, and Hauser) and Department of Neurology (Dr Hauser), College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health (Drs Hesdorffer and Hauser), Columbia University, New York, NY; and Departments of Pediatrics (Dr Ludvigsson), Neurology (Drs Olafsson and Gudmundsson), and Radiology (Dr Kjartansson), Landspitalinn University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Dr Gudmundsson is deceased.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Medication options when treating children and adolescents with ADHD: interpreting the NICE guidance 2006
Harpin
EDUCATION AND PRACTICE 2008;93:58-65.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents Who Have Epilepsy
Jones et al.
Pediatr. Rev. 2008;29:e9-e14.
FULL TEXT  

The frequency, complications and aetiology of ADHD in new onset paediatric epilepsy
Hermann et al.
Brain 2007;130:3135-3148.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Optimizing therapy of seizures in children and adolescents with ADHD
Aldenkamp et al.
Neurology 2006;67:S49-S51.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Children with new-onset epilepsy: neuropsychological status and brain structure
Hermann et al.
Brain 2006;129:2609-2619.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Tics and Tourette Syndrome
Gilbert
J Child Neurol 2006;21:690-700.
ABSTRACT  

Molecular Targeting and Treatment of EGFRvIII-Positive Gliomas Using Boronated Monoclonal Antibody L8A4.
Yang et al.
Clin. Cancer Res. 2006;12:3792-3802.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Assessment of Scientific and Ethical Issues in Two Randomized Clinical Trial Designs for Patients With Tourette's Syndrome: A Model for Studies of Multiple Neuropsychiatric Diagnoses
Gilbert and Buncher
J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosi. 2005;17:324-332.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT