Associations between symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, socioeconomic status and asthma in children.

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences the risk of both physical diseases, such as asthma, and neurodevelopmental conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using Causal Mediation Analysis on French birth-cohort data, we found a causal pathway from SES to ADHD symptoms, in part mediated by asthma. An increase in family income at age 3 by one unit resulted in lower ADHD symptoms at age 5, by -0.37 [95% CI: -0.50, -0.24] SDQ-score-points, with additional -0.04 [95% CI: -0.08, -0.01] points reduction indirectly via asthma at age 3, both with statistical significance. Importantly, family income at age 3 exerted both direct and indirect (via asthma) negative effects on later ADHD symptoms with much higher magnitudes for the direct effect. Our findings underscore the importance of apprehending ADHD symptoms in the broader context of socioeconomic disparities, along with their comorbidities with asthma, potentially influencing public health interventions and clinical practice in managing ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and lifetime use of psychoactive substances among French university students: A cross-sectional study.

In a cross sectional study of 13,837 university students, we aimed to explore the association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and lifetime psychoactive substance use (LPSU) on a wide range of illicit substances. Logistic and Hurdel multivariable regressions were used. ADHD symptoms were significantly associated with the lifetime use of ketamine, magic mushrooms, poppers, and nine other psychoactive substances. There was an association between ADHD symptoms and both LPSU and truncated count of lifetime psychoactive substance use. High levels of ADHD symptoms are associated with the use of a large variety and multiple LPSU.

Mental health comorbidities following peer victimization across childhood and adolescence: a 20-year longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Peer victimization is associated with a wide range of mental health problems in youth, yet few studies described its association with mental health comorbidities. METHODS: To test the association between peer victimization timing and intensity and mental health comorbidities, we used data from 1216 participants drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based birth cohort. Peer victimization was self-reported at ages 6-17 years, and modeled as four trajectory groups: low, childhood-limited, moderate adolescence-emerging, and high-chronic. The outcomes were the number and the type of co-occurring self-reported mental health problems at age 20 years. Associations were estimated using negative binomial and multinomial logistic regression models and adjusted for parent, family, and child characteristics using propensity score inverse probability weights. RESULTS: Youth in all peer victimization groups had higher rates of co-occurring mental health problems and higher likelihood of comorbid internalizing-externalizing problems [odds ratios ranged from 2.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52-2.79 for childhood-limited to 4.34, 95% CI 3.15-5.98 for high-chronic victimization] compared to those in the low victimization group. The strength of these associations was highest for the high-chronic group, followed by moderate adolescence-emerging and childhood-limited groups. All groups also presented higher likelihood of internalizing-only problems relative to the low peer victimization group. CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of timing and intensity, self-reported peer victimization was associated with mental health comorbidities in young adulthood, with the strongest associations observed for high-chronic peer victimization. Tackling peer victimization, especially when persistent over time, could play a role in reducing severe and complex mental health problems in youth.

Machine Learning Assessment of Early Life Factors Predicting Suicide Attempt in Adolescence or Young Adulthood.

Importance: Although longitudinal studies have reported associations between early life factors (ie, in-utero/perinatal/infancy) and long-term suicidal behavior, they have concentrated on 1 or few selected factors, and established associations, but did not investigate if early-life factors predict suicidal behavior. Objective: To identify and evaluate the ability of early-life factors to predict suicide attempt in adolescents and young adults from the general population. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prognostic study used data from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based longitudinal study from Québec province, Canada. Participants were followed-up from birth to age 20 years. Random forest classification algorithms were developed to predict suicide attempt. To avoid overfitting, prediction performance indices were assessed across 50 randomly split subsamples, and then the mean was calculated. Data were analyzed from November 2019 to June 2020. Exposures: Factors considered in the analysis included 150 variables, spanning virtually all early life domains, including pregnancy and birth information; child, parents, and neighborhood characteristics; parenting and family functioning; parents' mental health; and child temperament, as assessed by mothers, fathers, and hospital birth records. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was self-reported suicide attempt by age 20 years. Results: Among 1623 included youths aged 20 years, 845 (52.1%) were female and 778 (47.9%) were male. Models show moderate prediction performance. The areas under the curve for the prediction of suicide attempt were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.71-0.73) for females and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.60-0.62) for males. The models showed low sensitivity (females, 0.50; males, 0.32), moderate positive predictive values (females, 0.60; males, 0.62), and good specificity (females, 0.76; males, 0.82) and negative predicted values (females, 0.75; males, 0.71). The most important factors contributing to the prediction included socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the family (eg, mother and father education and age, socioeconomic status, neighborhood characteristics), parents' psychological state (specifically parents' antisocial behaviors) and parenting practices. Birth-related variables also contributed to the prediction of suicidal behavior (eg, prematurity). Sex differences were also identified, with family-related socioeconomic and demographic characteristics being the top factors for females and parents' antisocial behavior being the top factor for males. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that early life factors contributed modestly to the prediction of suicidal behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Although these factors may inform the understanding of the etiological processes of suicide, their utility in the long-term prediction of suicide attempt was limited.

Early Childhood Factors Associated With Peer Victimization Trajectories From 6 to 17 Years of Age.

OBJECTIVES: To describe (1) the developmental trajectories of peer victimization from 6 to 17 years of age and (2) the early childhood behaviors and family characteristics associated with the trajectories. METHODS: We used data from 1760 children enrolled in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a population-based birth cohort. Participants self-reported peer victimization at ages 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, and 17 years. Participants' behavior and family characteristics were measured repeatedly between ages 5 months and 5 years. RESULTS: We identified 4 trajectories of peer victimization from 6 to 17 years of age: low (32.9%), moderate-emerging (29.8%), childhood-limited (26.2%), and high-chronic (11.1%). Compared with children in the low peer victimization trajectory, children in the other 3 trajectories were more likely to exhibit externalizing behaviors in early childhood, and those in the high-chronic and moderate-emerging trajectories were more likely to be male. Paternal history of antisocial behavior was associated with moderate-emerging (odds ratio [OR] = 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-2.19) and high-chronic (OR = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.25-2.99) relative to low peer victimization. Living in a nonintact family in early childhood was associated with childhood-limited (OR = 1.48; 95% CI = 1.11-1.97) and high-chronic (OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.09-2.31) relative to low peer victimization. CONCLUSIONS: Early childhood externalizing behaviors and family vulnerabilities were associated with the development of peer victimization. Some children entered the cascade of persistent peer victimization at the beginning of primary school. Support to these children and their families early in life should be an important component of peer victimization preventive interventions.

Adolescent internalizing symptoms: The importance of multi-informant assessments in childhood.

BACKGROUND: Childhood internalizing symptoms can be associated with adolescent internalizing symptoms, but only a small proportion of symptomatic children are at long-term risk. Our objectives were to (1) distinguish between typical and atypical levels of internalizing symptoms using mother- and teacher-assessments and (2) test the association between childhood internalizing symptoms and adolescent generalized anxiety, depression, and social phobia symptoms in boys and girls. METHODS: Multi-trajectory models were used to estimate the evolution of mother- and teacher-reported internalizing symptoms across childhood (1.5 to 12 years) in a large population-based cohort (n = 1431). Multiple linear regression models were implemented to estimate the association between childhood group membership of internalizing symptoms and self-reported specific internalizing symptoms at 15 years by sex. RESULTS: Five groups of childhood internalizing symptoms were identified: Mother & teacher low (22.6%), Mother moderate/teacher low (37.9%), Mother moderate/teacher high (18.3%), Mother high/teacher low (11.8%) and Mother & teacher high (9.5%). Multiple linear regression models showed that compared to the low group, (1) boys in the high group reported higher social phobia symptoms (p = 0.04), (2) girls in the high group reported higher depression (p = 0.01) and generalized anxiety (p < 0.01) symptoms, and (3) girls in the moderate/high group reported higher generalized anxiety symptoms (p = 0.02) in adolescence. LIMITATIONS: The main limitation is that mothers' and teachers' assessments mostly covered different developmental periods. CONCLUSIONS: A multi-informant assessment of childhood internalizing symptoms improves adolescent specific internalizing symptoms identification in a general population sample over reliance on a single informant.