Source: Arthroscopy  |  Posted 10 years ago

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) syndrome may be independent of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in comorbid youths.

United States researchers report: "When ADHD-like symptoms are seen in youths with OCD, they reflect a true comorbid state of OCD plus ADHD.

"ADHD syndrome may be independent of OCD in comorbid youths."

Investigators from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts and McLean Hospitals and the Paediatric Psychopharmacology Clinic in Boston examined phenotypic features and functional correlates of ADHD-like symptoms.

Their cohort included a large sample of paediatric psychiatric patients who had been consecutively referred to the centres since 1997.

Researchers wanted to clarify whether symptoms of inattention and distractibility that are common in children and adolescents with OCD represent true comorbidity with ADHD or whether the symptoms are a manifestation of obsessional anxiety.

"Number, frequency and types of core ADHD symptoms as well as ADHD-associated functional indices were identical in all youths with Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-diagnosed ADHD," investigators concluded.

They confirmed this was true "irrespective of the presence or absence of comorbid OCD."