title: No cross-sectional and longitudinal association of ferritin and symptoms of attention-deficit-/hyperactivity disorder in a large population-based sample of children: results from the GINIplus and LISAplus studies.
abstract: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with alterations in iron metabolism, and low ferritin concentrations in peripheral blood have inconsistently been reported in clinically referred samples of children with ADHD. This study examined whether higher peripheral concentrations of ferritin, the major iron storage protein, are associated with decreased symptoms of ADHD in 2,805 children aged 10 years participating in two large population-based birth cohorts (GINIplus and LISAplus). Whether high ferritin concentrations at age 4 months predict lower ADHD symptoms at age 10 years was also investigated using a longitudinal approach in a subsample of 193 children. No indications for an association between peripheral ferritin concentrations and ADHD symptoms were found in this large population-based study. Re-evaluating iron substitution as a therapeutic measure for ADHD may be warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic of Munich, Nußbaumstr. 5 a, 80336 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romanos
authors.forename: Carla M T
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Tiesler
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koletzko
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berdel
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Berg
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schaaf
authors.forename: Olf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Herbarth
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Carl-Peter
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stach
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schulte-Körne
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heinrich
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D005293:Ferritins