title: Executive function profile of Chinese boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: different subtypes and comorbidity.
abstract: This study examined the executive function (EF) profile of Chinese boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using a large sample. Executive function performance within the ADHD subtypes and the effects of comorbidity were also investigated. Five hundred Chinese boys (375 with ADHD and 125 controls) aged 6-15 completed a battery of EF tests. Boys with all types of ADHD performed worse in all of the EF tests than age- and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls. The boys with the inattention ADHD subtype and the combined subtype showed similar impairments across different EF tasks, whereas the boys with the hyperactive-impulsive ADHD subtype primarily displayed deficits in theory of mind and visual memory. Comorbid oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder had no additional influence on the EF characteristics of the boys with ADHD only, whereas comorbid learning disorder increased the severity of inhibition and shifting impairments.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shuai
authors.forename: Raymond C K
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance