Population-based studies of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Adverse Health Behaviors

Anneli Andersson (Anneli.Andersson@oru.se) is a graduate student at the School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University. She has a background in psychology and criminology and is connected to the School of medical sciences since 1st of April 2017.

The project focus on Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using large population-based data sources. The first study will be a systematic review with a meta-analysis with the aim to investigate the strength of the genetic overlaps between ADHD and externalizing, internalizing and neurodevelopmental disorder symptoms. 

The second study will aim to examine the smoking among pregnant women diagnosed with ADHD. To enable this, the Medical Birth Register will be used to gather information regarding smoking behaviors prior to and during pregnancy. The National Patient Register and the Prescribed Drug Register will be used to define ADHD. The third study aims to investigate whether the risk of adverse health behaviors (postpartum) increases after pregnancy in females diagnosed with ADHD compared to females without ADHD. 

The fourth study will explore how genetic and environmental risk factors influences the association between ADHD and binge eating problems. To improve the understanding of the gene-environmental interplay underlying the overlap between ADHD and binge eating, data from the Swedish Study of Young Adults Twins (YATSS) will be used. YATSS includes twins born from 1985 to 1992 and is a twin study on health and behaviour of young adults.