A Prospective Birth Cohort Study on Maternal Cholesterol Levels and Offspring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insight on Sex Differences

Yuelong Ji; Anne W. Riley; Li-Ching Lee; Heather Volk; Xiumei Hong; Guoying Wang; Rayris Angomas; Tom Stivers; Anastacia Wahl; Hongkai Ji; Tami R. Bartell; Irina Burd; David Paige; Margaret D. Fallin; Barry Zuckerman; Xiaobin Wang

doi:10.3390/brainsci8010003

Brain Sciences (Dec 2017)

A Prospective Birth Cohort Study on Maternal Cholesterol Levels and Offspring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insight on Sex Differences

Yuelong Ji,
Anne W. Riley,
Li-Ching Lee,
Heather Volk,
Xiumei Hong,
Guoying Wang,
Rayris Angomas,
Tom Stivers,
Anastacia Wahl,
Hongkai Ji,
Tami R. Bartell,
Irina Burd,
David Paige,
Margaret D. Fallin,
Barry Zuckerman,
Xiaobin Wang

Affiliations

Yuelong Ji: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Anne W. Riley: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Li-Ching Lee: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Heather Volk: Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities & Department of Mental Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Xiumei Hong: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Guoying Wang: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Rayris Angomas: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Tom Stivers: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Anastacia Wahl: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Hongkai Ji: Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Tami R. Bartell: Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research, Outreach and Advocacy Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 225 E Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
Irina Burd: Integrated Research Center for Fetal Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1800 Orleans St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
David Paige: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Margaret D. Fallin: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Barry Zuckerman: Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118, USA
Xiaobin Wang: Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci8010003
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 1
p. 3

Abstract

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Growing evidence suggests that maternal cholesterol levels are important in the offspring’s brain growth and development. Previous studies on cholesterols and brain functions were mostly in adults. We sought to examine the prospective association between maternal cholesterol levels and the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the offspring. We analyzed data from the Boston Birth Cohort, enrolled at birth and followed from birth up to age 15 years. The final analyses included 1479 mother-infant pairs: 303 children with ADHD, and 1176 neurotypical children without clinician-diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders. The median age of the first diagnosis of ADHD was seven years. The multiple logistic regression results showed that a low maternal high-density lipoprotein level (≤60 mg/dL) was associated with an increased risk of ADHD, compared to a higher maternal high-density lipoprotein level, after adjusting for pertinent covariables. A “J” shaped relationship was observed between triglycerides and ADHD risk. The associations with ADHD for maternal high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides were more pronounced among boys. The findings based on this predominantly urban low-income minority birth cohort raise a new mechanistic perspective for understanding the origins of ADHD and the gender differences and future targets in the prevention of ADHD.

Published in Brain Sciences

ISSN: 2076-3425 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/

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