Peer-reviewed article
The risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in the adolescent offspring of mothers with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Findings from the raine study
Ayano G, Betts K, Tait R, Dachew B, Lin A et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether maternal anxiety and depression during childhood are linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in adolescents. Using data from a birth cohort study in Western Australia, researchers measured maternal mental health when children were 10 years old and assessed ADHD symptoms when they reached age 17. Children whose mothers had anxiety or combined anxiety and depression showed significantly higher rates of ADHD symptoms, while maternal depression alone was not associated with ADHD risk.
Key points
- Adolescents whose mothers had anxiety symptoms showed nearly 3 times higher risk of ADHD symptoms (RR 2.84)
- Children of mothers with both anxiety and depressive symptoms had over 5 times higher risk of ADHD symptoms (RR 5.60)
- Maternal depressive symptoms alone were not associated with increased ADHD risk in adolescents
- This is the first study to examine this association specifically in late adolescence
- Early detection and management of ADHD in children of mothers with anxiety is recommended
Limitations
The study is observational and cannot prove that maternal anxiety directly causes ADHD symptoms; other factors like shared genetics or environmental stressors may explain the associations. The research only captured maternal mental health at one point in time (when the child was 10) and cannot determine whether timing or persistence of maternal symptoms matters.
Abstract
Introduction While there exist some studies that explored the association between maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early and late childhood, studies exploring the risk in late adolescence are however lacking. Objectives This is the first study that aimed to investigate the association between maternal anxiety, depressive, as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the risk of ADHD symptoms in late adolescence. Methods We used data from the Raine Study, a birth cohort in Western Australia. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) was used to assess maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms when the child was aged 10. Whereas, the DSM-oriented scales of the child behavior checklist (CBCL) was used to assess ADHD symptoms offspring in adolescents aged 17. Log-binomial regression model was used to explore the associations. Results After adjusting for relevant covariates, we found an increased risk of ADHD symptoms in the adolescent children of mothers with anxiety [RR 2.84 (95%CI 1.18-6.83)] as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms [RR 5.60 (95%CI 3.02-10.37)]. No association was seen with maternal depressive symptoms. Conclusions This study suggested that adolescent offspring of mothers with anxiety as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms had an increased risk of ADHD symptoms. Early detection and management for ADHD symptoms in children of mothers with anxiety and comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms are needed. Disclosure No significant relationships.