Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: fact or artifact?
OBJECTIVE
To clarify whether the symptoms of inattention and distractibility commonly seen in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) represent true comorbidity with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or a manifestation of obsessional anxiety.


METHODS
Phenotypic features and functional correlates of ADHD-like symptoms were examined in youths with and without OCD from a large sample of pediatric psychiatry patients consecutively referred since 1997.


RESULTS
The number, frequency, and types of core ADHD symptoms as well as ADHD-associated functional indices were identical in all youths with DSM-IV-diagnosed ADHD irrespective of the presence or absence of comorbid OCD.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that when ADHD-like symptoms are seen in youths with OCD, they reflect a true comorbid state of OCD plus ADHD and that the ADHD syndrome may be independent of OCD in comorbid youths.
Geller
Daniel A
DA
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, USA. geller@mclean.harvard.edu
Biederman
Joseph
J
Faraone
Stephen V
SV
Cradock
Kathleen
K
Hagermoser
Lisa
L
Zaman
Noreen
N
Frazier
Jean A
JA
Coffey
Barbara J
BJ
Spencer
Thomas J
TJ
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales