Association of Childhood Adversities on the Persistence and Remission of Drug-Naïve Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Longitudinal Community-Based Sample

Abstract Objective: To investigate the influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on the natural course of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without the effect of ADHD medication. Method: 457 Finnish children (261 cases, 196 controls) partook in a clinical study where their ADHD trajectory was defined from the age of 7 to the age of 16. Using binary logistic regression analysis with psychiatric comorbidities and sex as confounders we studied the association of ACEs to this trajectory. Results: The analysis identified a statistically significant association between high ACE scores and a partially remitting ADHD trajectory (Odds Ratio=2.07, 95 % Confidence Intervals=1.26-3.38, p=.004). Conclusions: A high ACE score showed an association with having some persistent ADHD symptoms in adolescence while not reaching the diagnostic threshold for ADHD in the partially remitting group. This is a novel finding, and further studies with larger samples would be needed to replicate and extend these preliminary findings.