title: Emotional lability: the discriminative value in the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to assess the discriminative value of emotional lability (EL) in the diagnosis of adults with ADHD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A group of adults who met ADHD DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (n=589), a clinical control group (n=138) and a community control group (n=98) were compared in EL scores. SCID-I, SCID-II and CAADID were used to select subjects. The specific subscale on EL of the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) was used to evaluate EL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An analysis of the covariance was carried out in order to explore the association between EL, ADHD and comorbidity. The group factor (ADHD, clinical or community group) and the comorbidity factor (presence or absence of other psychiatric disorders different from ADHD) showed to be significant on EL intensity (group: F=81.78 p=0.000; comorbidity: F=25.48 p=0.000). However, no significant differences were found in the group × comorbidity interaction (F=1.006, p=0.366). EL showed a sensitivity of 87.1% and a specificity of 46.6% in discriminating between ADHD patients and subjects with other psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EL is specifically related to ADHD and this association is not explained for the presence of other psychiatric disorders. The presence of comorbid disorders is only related to a major intensity of EL.
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valero
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palomar
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Montse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corrales
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Richarte
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gómez-Barros
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Margarida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corominas
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.affiliation: Servei de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, CIBERSAM, UniversitatAutònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Psychiatry, Mental Health and Addiction Group, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jaramos@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Josep Antoni
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ramos-Quiroga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult