Objectives: Assessment of the prevalence of risk factors associated with the course of pregnancy and childbirth and the condition of the child after birth in agroup of children and adolescents with ADHD and a control group.
Methods: 205 unrelated children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and 106 primary and secondary school students aged 7-17. Method. Mothers of children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, and those from the control group, were asked to provide a medical history in order to obtain data to supplement the Pregnancy and perinatal history questionnaire.
Results: Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were demonstrated for the incidence rates of factors related to the course of pregnancy and childbirth such as: the occurrence of maternal diseases during pregnancy, especially in the I/II trimester, and other problems during pregnancy; exposure to stress and taking medication during pregnancy; smoking during pregnancy; mother's age at childbirth, i.e., < 25 years or > 35 years; use of pain reducing substances during labor and problems with the child during the delivery;an APGAR score in the range of 5-7 points; the occurrence of neonatal jaundice necessitating treatment, especially replacement transfusion; physical anomalies or other congenital problems in the newborn, as well as adaptive problems necessitating neonatal oxygen administration or placement in an incubator.
Conclusions: Significantly more frequent occurrence of risk factors related to the course of pregnancy, childbirth and the child's condition after birth in the ADHD group may indicate their potential role in the etiology of ADHD.
Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; environmental factors; etiology.