Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and fluctuating asymmetry in another college sample.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) represents a developmental lag that may be reflected in fluctuating asymmetry (FA), i.e., differences from perfect symmetry in traits that display bilateral symmetry. Burton et al. (2003 Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:601-619) found a statistical trend for FA to increase (as dermatoglyphic index or as total index) as the behavioral measure for AD/HDness (Rasch logit values derived from the Wender Utah Rating Scale, or WURS) increased in males but not in females. The objective here was to do a similar study in an independently collected sample of college students (n = 222; 61 male, 161 female) not selected for AD/HD, looking at FA vs. symptoms for AD/HD based on Rasch versions of responses to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) (Barkley and Murphy 1998 Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, New York: Guilford Press, p. 95-96) and the more comparable shortened WURS. FAs were lowest for body and ear height, and highest for eye width and nose width, and ranged from 0.01 +/- 0.001 (mean +/- SE) for foot and ankle widths to 0.13 +/- 0.01 in eye and nose widths for both sexes; the sexes did not differ significantly. Males displayed higher AD/HD symptom rates overall. There was a significant correlation between body FA and the WURS measure in females after Bonferroni correction (P = 0.002, r(2) = 0.058). Thus, AD/HD symptoms levels increased with an increase in body FA in female college students not selected for AD/HD.
Stevenson
J C
JC
Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, 98225, USA. jcstvnsn@cc.wwu.edu
Everson
P M
PM
Williams
D C
DC
Hipskind
G
G
Mahoney
E R
ER
Mehler
M
M
Cawley
M
M
Chamberlin
W
W
Watts
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D005145:Face / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities