Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prenatal problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the smoking habits, substance or alcohol abuse and history of psychiatric disorders and criminal offence in the parents of these children.
Methods: Eighty-nine children aged between 6 to 12 years,with a diagnosis of ADHD and no comorbid psychiatric disorder or chronic medical disease and their parents were included in the study. ADHD diagnosis was made according to DSM-IV criteria. Assessment of prenatal problems and parents was made by interviewing with both parents and using a form prepared by the authors.
Results: In the history of the children with ADHD, 18 mothers had a threatened miscarriage, 13 had used medication and 19 were smoking during their pregnancy. Eight mothers had medical diseases due to pregnancy. %76.4 of the fathers and %39.3 of the mothers had a history of smoking, %13.5 of the fathers was consuming alcohol regularly and %7.9 were using various psychoactive drugs. Twenty-nine mothers and 12 fathers had psychiatric treatment history. Nine fathers had a history of criminal offence.
Conclusion: The high rate of prenatal problems and high rate of psychopathology in the parents found in this study is striking because the children included in this study had no comorbid conduct disorder or chronic medical disease other than ADHD. So this study is important to highlight the etiology of ADHD and emphasize the importance of preventing smoking during pregnancy and decreasing maternal morbidity.