CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 234Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderDevelopmental and Educational NeuropsychologyAutism Spectrum Disorder Research

Etiologic classification of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Millichap, J. Gordon·2008·PEDIATRICS
DOI 10.1542/peds.2007-1332
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a neurobiological syndrome with an estimated prevalence among children and adolescents of 5%. It is a highly heritable disorder, but acquired factors in etiology are sometimes uncovered that may be amenable to preventive measures or specific therapy. Early reports have described symptoms similar to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder that followed brain trauma or viral encephalitis, and recent MRI studies have demonstrated brain volumetric changes that may be involved in the pathophysiology of the syndrome. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Statistical Manual, introduced in 1968, emphasizes symptomatic criteria in diagnosis. Here, an overview of environmental factors in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is presented to encourage more emphasis and research on organic causal factors, preventive intervention, and specific therapies. An organic theory and the genetic and biochemical basis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are briefly reviewed, and an etiologic classification is suggested. Environmental factors are prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal in origin. Pregnancy- and birth-related risk factors include maternal smoking and alcohol ingestion, prematurity, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and thyroid deficiency. Childhood illnesses associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder include virus infections, meningitis, encephalitis, head injury, epilepsy, toxins, and drugs. More controversial factors discussed are diet-related sensitivities and iron deficiency. Early prenatal recognition, prevention, and treatment of environmental etiologies of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may reduce physician reliance on symptomatic modification with medication, a frequent reason for parental concern.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1542/peds.2007-1332

Cites

70 of 70 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In children with ADHD, there is a large variety of causes for cognitive and behavioral symptoms, such as genetics, anxiety, life stress, and exposure to environmental toxins.

    “because there is a large variety of causes for the cognitive and behavioral symptoms, such as genetics, anxiety, life stress, exposure to environmental toxins, etc. (Millichap, 2008; Shah et al., 2012).”

    From Executive control training from middle childhood to adolescence (2014) · cites this paper as Millichap, 2008

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Millichap, J. G.
Affiliations
Northwestern University (US)
Corresponding author
Millichap, J. Gordon
ORCID
Millichap, J. Gordon
Venue
PEDIATRICS
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Published
2008-02-01
Volume
121
Issue
2
Pages
e358-e365
ISSN
  • 0031-4005 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-4275
DOI
10.1542/peds.2007-1332
OpenAlex
W2104674093
Cited by
234
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 22
FWCI
2.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • PEDIATRICS (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etiology, etiologic classification, environmental risk factors, prenatal risk factors, perinatal risk factors, maternal smoking, maternal alcohol exposure, preterm birth, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, thyroid hormone deficiency, viral encephalitis, meningitis, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, iron deficiency, brain volumetric changes, heritability, genetic basis, biochemical basis, prevention
MeSH terms
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Diet, Environment, Female, Humans, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Risk Factors, Thyroid Hormone Resistance Syndrome

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review