Exposure to environmental and lifestyle factors and attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder in children — A review of epidemiological studies

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Although the mechanisms that lead to the development of ADHD remain unclear, genetic and environmental factors have been implicated. These include heavy metals and chemical exposures, nutritional and lifestyle/psychosocial factors. The aim of this review was to investigate the association between ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms and widespread environmental factors such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), tobacco smoke, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs) and alcohol. Medline, PubMed and Ebsco search was performed to identify the studies which analyze the association of prenatal and postnatal child exposure to environmental toxicants and lifestyle factors and ADHD or ADHD-related symptoms. The review is restricted to human studies published since 2000 in English in peer reviewed journals. Despite much research has been done on the association between environmental risk factors and ADHD or ADHD symptoms, results are not consistent. Most studies in this field, focused on exposure to tobacco smoke, found an association between that exposure and ADHD and ADHD symptoms. On the other hand, the impact of phthalates, BPA, PFCs, PAHs and alcohol is less frequently investigated and does not allow a firm conclusion regarding the association with the outcomes of interest.

Spatial distribution and partition of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in rivers of the Pearl River Delta, southern China

“…e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s c i t o t e n v Chaemfa et al, 2010) and the human body (Taniyasu et al, 2003;Harada et al, 2007;Bao et al, 2011;Polanska et al, 2012). As a result, contamination by PFAAs has come to the forefront of environmental research.…”

Obstetrical Mode of Delivery and Childhood Behavior and Psychological Development in a British Cohort

“…There are several hypotheses regarding how CS may affect behavioral development, including ''early term '' birth (MacKay et al 2010;Tita et al 2009), exposure to altered microbiota (Cho and Norman 2013;Cryan and Dinan 2012;Desbonnet et al 2014;Hsiao et al 2013;Salminen et al 2004), or possibly through changes in maternal-child attachment (Brumariu and Kerns 2010;Olza Fernandez et al 2013;Swain et al 2008). Notably, while ASD and ADHD are both highly inheritable disorders, environmental factors have also been found to be important (Polanska et al 2012;Sandin et al 2014).…”

Neurobiologische Grundlagen der Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung

“…Befunde zu etwaigen Zusammenhängen zwischen Alkoholexposition und ADHS sind hingegen -abgesehen vom fetalen Alkoholsyndrom -weniger zahlreich und inkonsistent [180,181]. Diese und andere prä-und perinatalen Faktoren können nach aktuellem Stand nicht als ätiologische Faktoren für ADHS angesehen werden, bei einigen Faktoren wie z.…”