Adverse effects of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD.
OBJECTIVE
Exposure to heavy maternal cigarette smoking in pregnancy and severe maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy appear to be important risk factors for the development of ADHD. This study aimed to determine whether these perinatal risk factors were associated with neuropsychological deficits commonly seen in ADHD.


METHODS
We examined the effect of these two risk factors on measures of attentional control, motor inhibition, visual-motor integration, and fine motor coordination in a group of 81 children with ADHD, aged from 8 to 18 years. The neuropsychological battery included the Connors' Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test, the Beery Visual-Motor Integration Test, and the Purdue Pegboard Test.


RESULTS
Heavy maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with slower reaction times (p < .002), and reaction time variability (p < .007) on the CPT.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests a persistent negative effect of heavy prenatal maternal smoking on attentional control in children with ADHD. Future studies should examine the neurobiological basis and determine the degree to which inherited genetic susceptibility factors contribute to this finding.
Motlagh
Maria G
MG
Child Study Center Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-7920, USA. maria.motlagh@yale.edu
Sukhodolsky
Denis G
DG
Landeros-Weisenberger
Angeli
A
Katsovich
Liliya
L
Thompson
Nancy
N
Scahill
Lawrence
L
King
Robert A
RA
Peterson
Bradley S
BS
Schultz
Robert T
RT
Leckman
James F
JF
D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000523:psychology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*