Developmental outcome of school-age children born to mothers with heroin dependency: importance of environmental factors

Abstract

Development of children aged 5 to 12 years born to mothers with heroin dependency raised at home or adopted was studied in comparison with: (1) children with environmental deprivation alone (i.e. low parental socioeconomic status [SES] and evidence of neglect), (2) children born to fathers with heroin dependency fathers, and (3) control individuals of average SES. One hundred and sixty children (84 males and 76 females; average age at examination 8 years) were evaluated between 1998 and 1999. All were attending mainstream schools. All participants were examined by a paediatrician and a psychologist using standard neurological and psychological age-appropriate tests, as well as tests and questionnaires to assess learning ability and attention span. The Conners and Achenbach questionnaires and the Pollack Taper test were used to assess possible presence of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mothers were assessed for ADHD using Wender's questionnaire. Children born to parents with heroin dependency raised at home and those of low SES exhibited intellectual impairment both on verbal and performance skills. They also had impaired reading and arithmetic skills. Children born to mothers with heroin dependency but who were adopted at a young age had normal intellectual and learning abilities, except for some reduced function on the performance Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. We found a high rate of ADHD among all children born to parents with heroin dependency, including those adopted, as well as in children with low parental SES. The highest rate of ADHD was in children born to mothers with heroin dependency raised at home, being twice that observed in the other groups. Mothers of these groups of children also had a high rate of ADHD.

Lack of severe long-term outcomes of acute, subclinical B1 deficiency in 216 children in Israel exposed in early infancy

“…A pediatrician experienced in child development assessed the child's physical and neurodevelopmental status according to a specially designed questionnaire on pregnancy and delivery and a medical and neurological evaluation form used routinely for research purposes in the Jerusalem Child Development Center (13,14); major and minor anomalies and motor activity according to a table of ageadjusted motor development milestones for ages 3, 3½, 4, and 5 y were recorded.…”

“…The long-term neurobehavioral development of young children is largely dependent on the environment they are exposed to (12)(13)(14). Intrauterine exposure of the fetus to neuroteratogenic agents such as heroin, cocaine, and alcohol may have deleterious effects on long-term postnatal development (15,16).…”

ADHD risk alleles associated with opiate addiction: study of addicted parents and their children

“…This was still significant even when compared to children born to low socio-economic status families or to heroin-dependent fathers that also have a higher rate of ADHD compared to control children (22,23). This high rate is partially reduced when the children born to heroin-dependent mothers were adopted at a young age, but was still significantly higher compared to controls, emphasizing the possible relation to both the intrauterine exposure to heroin and the genetic component (22,23). The cognitive delay generally observed in children born to heroin-addicted parents probably stems from the poor environment the children were raised in, as their cognitive and learning abilities are similar to those of low socio-economic status or those born to heroin-dependent fathers (22,24).…”

“…This was still significant even when compared to children born to low socio-economic status families or to heroin-dependent fathers that also have a higher rate of ADHD compared to control children (22,23). This high rate is partially reduced when the children born to heroin-dependent mothers were adopted at a young age, but was still significantly higher compared to controls, emphasizing the possible relation to both the intrauterine exposure to heroin and the genetic component (22,23).…”

“…This high rate is partially reduced when the children born to heroin-dependent mothers were adopted at a young age, but was still significantly higher compared to controls, emphasizing the possible relation to both the intrauterine exposure to heroin and the genetic component (22,23). The cognitive delay generally observed in children born to heroin-addicted parents probably stems from the poor environment the children were raised in, as their cognitive and learning abilities are similar to those of low socio-economic status or those born to heroin-dependent fathers (22,24). If the children born to heroin-dependent mothers were adopted at a young age and raised in drug free and good home environments, their cognitive abilities were similar to that of control, normal children (22,24).…”