Abstract
Longitudinal studies on the course of neurocognitive functioning of children with ADHD and their unaffected siblings are scarce. Also, it is unclear to what extent that course is related to ADHD outcomes. A carefully phenotyped large sample of 838 Caucasian participants (ADHD-combined type: n = 339, unaffected siblings: n = 271, controls: n = 228; mean age at baseline = 11.4 years, mean age at follow-up = 17.3 years, SD = 3.2) was used to investigate differences in the course of neurocognitive functioning of ADHD affected and unaffected siblings versus controls, and to investigate the relationship between neurocognitive change and ADHD outcomes. At baseline, an aggregated measure of overall neurocognitive functioning and eight neurocognitive measures of working memory, timing (speed/variability), motor control, and intelligence were investigated. Outcomes at follow-up were dimensional measures of ADHD symptom severity and the Kiddie-Global Assessment Scale (K-GAS) for overall functioning. At follow up, affected and unaffected siblings trended to, or fully caught up with performance levels of controls on four (44.4%) and five (55.6%) of the nine dependent variables, respectively. In contrast, performance in remaining key neurocognitive measures (i.e. verbal working memory, variability in responding) remained impaired at follow-up. Change in neurocognitive functioning was not related to ADHD outcomes. Our results question the etiological link between neurocognitive deficits and ADHD outcomes in adolescents and young adults.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 405-419 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 6 Aug 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Mar 2019 |
Funding
Acknowledgements We thank all families and teachers that took part in this study and all students for their assistance in data collection. This work was supported by National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant R01MH62873, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Large Investment Grant 1750102007010, ZonMW Grant 60-60600-97-193, and grants from Radboud university medical center, University Medical Center Groningen and Accare, and VU University Amsterdam. B. Franke is supported by a Vici grant (016.130.669) from NWO, she and J. Buitelaar receive funding from the European Commission Framework 7 Program under grant number 602450 (IMAGEMEND).
Funders | Funder number |
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European Commission Framework 7 Program | |
National Institute of Health | |
National Institutes of Health | |
National Institute of Mental Health | R01MH062873 |
ZonMw | 60-60600-97-193 |
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | 016.130.669 |
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | 1750102007010 |
Seventh Framework Programme | 602450 |
Radboud Universitair Medisch Centrum |
Keywords
- ADHD
- Course
- Neurocognitive functioning
- Overall functioning
- Symptom severity