Sex-specific manifestation of genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the general population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more commonly diagnosed in males than in females. A growing body of research suggests that females with ADHD might be underdiagnosed or receive alternative diagnoses, such as anxiety or depression. Other lines of reasoning suggest that females might be protected from developing ADHD, requiring a higher burden of genetic risk to manifest the disorder.

Methods

We tested these two hypotheses, using common variant genetic data from two population-based cohorts. First, we tested whether females and males diagnosed with anxiety or depression differ in terms of their genetic risk for ADHD, assessed as polygenic risk scores (PRS). Second, we tested whether females and males with ADHD differed in ADHD genetic risk burden.

SUBMITTER: Martin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6055636 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature