Cited by 1,338Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Open access
Faraone, Stephen V., Larsson, Henrik·2019·Molecular Psychiatry

Abstract

Decades of research show that genes play an vital role in the etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its comorbidity with other disorders. Family, twin, and adoption studies show that ADHD runs in families. ADHD’s high heritability of 74% motivated the search for ADHD susceptibility genes. Genetic linkage studies show that the effects of DNA risk variants on ADHD must, individually, be very small. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated several genetic loci at the genome-wide level of statistical significance. These studies also show that about a third of ADHD’s heritability is due to a polygenic component comprising many common variants each having small effects. From studies of copy number variants we have also learned that the rare insertions or deletions account for part of ADHD’s heritability. These findings have implicated new biological pathways that may eventually have implications for treatment development.

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  • Genetic factors and gene-environment interplay play a major causal role in ADHD.

    “A review of 37 twin studies from the United States, Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia found that genes and their interaction with the environment must play a substantial role in causing ADHD”

    From The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder (2021) · cites this paper as Faraone and Larsson, 2018

    The 'Evidence for Heritability from family, adoption and twin studies' section reports a mean heritability of 74% across 37 twin studies, supporting a substantial genetic role. The 'Conclusions and Future Directions' section says gene–environment interactions are possible and may account for much of ADHD’s etiology, not that they must play a substantial role. The retrieved passages do not establish the stated geographic range of the 37 studies; page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • ADHD shares some genetic and environmental influences with many psychiatric and somatic disorders.

    “Family, twin, and DNA studies show that genetic and environmental influences are partially shared between ADHD and many other psychiatric disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, conduct disorder, eating disorders, and substance use disorders) and with somatic disorders (e.g. migraine and obesity)”

    From The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder (2021) · cites this paper as Faraone and Larsson, 2018

    The 'ADHD’s Clinical Features & Course' section (page not given) reports genetic overlap with several psychiatric disorders, and 'Common Variant ADHD as a Polygenic Disorder' (page not given) describes shared genetic risk with obesity. The cited text does not establish shared environmental influences across these disorders, and the searched passages do not substantiate the migraine or eating-disorder examples. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • Environmental influences exert differential effects on ADHD depending on genotype, such that individuals with specific genetic profiles (e.g., 5-HTTLPR variants) are more susceptible to the neurobehavioral impact of early adversity and psychosocial stress.

    “Environmental influences exert differential effects depending on genotype, such that individuals with specific genetic profiles (e.g., variants in dopaminergic or serotonergic genes such as 5-HTTLPR) are more susceptible to the neurobehavioral impact of early adversity and psychosocial stress”

    From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [57]

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  • Gene-environment interactions determine the likelihood, severity, and developmental timing of ADHD symptom expression.

    “gene-environment interactions (G×E) determine the likelihood, severity, and developmental timing of symptom expression”

    From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [57]

    The Conclusions and Future Directions section says gene–environment interactions may account for much of ADHD’s etiology, supporting a possible role in likelihood but not the claim that they determine it. The Clinical Features & Course section discusses developmental differences in genetic risk, not gene–environment interactions; the copy does not establish that those interactions determine symptom severity or developmental timing. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • ADHD etiology is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental condition arising from interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental influences (G×E).

    “The etiology of ADHD is most accurately conceptualized not as the consequence of a single etiological source but as a multifactorial neurodevelopmental condition arising from the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental influences (G×E).”

    From ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives (2025) · cites this paper as [57]

    The Conclusions and Future Directions section says both genes and environmental factors contribute to ADHD’s etiology, supporting the multifactorial account. It says gene–environment interactions may account for much of that etiology, however, rather than establishing interaction as the mechanism the claim states definitively. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [29]Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Larsson JO. Genetic contributions to the development of ADHD subtypes from childhood to adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2006; 45(8): 973– 81. 16865040
  2. [101]Polderman TJ, Hoekstra RA, Posthuma D, Larsson H. The co-occurrence of autistic and ADHD dimensions in adults: an etiological study in 17,770 twins. Transl Psychiatry 2014; 4: e435. 25180574 PMC4203013
  3. [156]Chang Z, Lichtenstein P, Asherson PJ, Larsson H. Developmental twin study of attention problems: high heritabilities throughout development. JAMA Psychiatry 2013; 70(3): 311– 8. 23303526

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Authors
Faraone, S. V., & Larsson, H.
Affiliations
  • SUNY Upstate Medical University (US)
  • Örebro University (SE)
Corresponding author
Faraone, Stephen V.
Venue
Molecular Psychiatry
Published
2018-06-11
Volume
24
Issue
4
Pages
562-575
ISSN
  • 1359-4184 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5578
OpenAlex
W2808011097
Cited by
1,338
References
328
Citations by year
2026: 234 · 2025: 201 · 2024: 158 · 2023: 160 · 2022: 151 · 2021: 145 · 2020: 105 · 2019: 68 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 10
FWCI
12.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • European Commission (HORIZON2020, 667302, 602805)
  • Vetenskapsrådet (20132–280, (2014-3831))
  • Universitetet i Bergen
  • H. Lundbeck A/S
  • National Institute of Mental Health (U01MH085518, U01MH109536, R01MH101519)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD genetics, heritability, polygenic risk, copy number variation, genetic susceptibility loci, twin and family studies, ADHD comorbidity, biological pathways
MeSH terms
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Humans, Genetic Linkage, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Multifactorial Inheritance, Genome-Wide Association Study, DNA Copy Number Variations

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