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Biomedical subjects

J Biederman

Publications and source records attributed to J Biederman.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

A naturalistic study of 24-hour electrocardiographic recordings and echocardiographic findings in children and adolescents treated with desipramine.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies assessing cardiovascular effects of desipramine (DMI) in pediatric patients consistently have found small, clinically benign, but statistically significant, increases in heart rate and electrocardiographic (ECG) conduction parameters. However, single, routine ECG recordings cannot fully assess potential infrequent rhythm disturbances. METHOD: We analyzed data from 24-hour ECG monitoring, two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography, and expert clinical cardiac examination of DMI-treated patients. Subjects were 71 children (N = 35) and adolescents (N = 36) receiving long-term treatment (means +/- SD = 1.5 +/- 1.2 years, median = 1.0 year) with DMI (means +/- SD = 3.5 +/- 1.6 mg/kg). RESULTS: Compared with previous observations in untreated healthy children. DMI-treated patients had significantly lower rates of sinus pauses and junctional rhythm, but significantly higher rates of single or paired premature atrial contractions and runs of supraventricular tachycardia. There was an association between DMI serum levels and paired premature atrial contractions, but no other associations were detected. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the impression from previous ECG studies that DMI-associated cardiac effects in pediatric patients are quite benign. Nevertheless, it remains to be ascertained whether even minor cardiac abnormalities may predict later, evidently rare, adverse cardiovascular effects that may include sudden death.

Adolescent↗

A 3-year follow-up of children with and without behavioral inhibition.

OBJECTIVE: Previous work suggested that children of parents with panic disorder and agoraphobia were likely to be classified as behaviorally inhibited and that behaviorally inhibited children were likely to develop anxiety disorders. Although these findings suggested that "behavioral inhibition to the unfamiliar" may be associated with risk for anxiety disorders in children, longitudinal data were needed to confirm the initial impressions. METHOD: Using DSM-III structured interviews, the authors examined psychiatric disorders at 3-year follow-up in children of two independently ascertained, previously described, and preexisting samples of children. One sample was cross sectional and clinically derived (Massachusetts General Hospital at-risk sample), and the other was epidemiologically derived and longitudinal (Kagan et al. Longitudinal Cohort). RESULTS: Analyses of follow-up findings revealed significant differences between inhibited and not inhibited children in the rates of multiple > or = 4 psychiatric disorders, multiple > or = 2 anxiety disorders, avoidant disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. Among inhibited children, the rates of anxiety disorders increased markedly from baseline to follow-up assessments, attaining statistical significance for multiple > or = 2 anxiety disorders and avoidant disorder. Our findings also show there were significant differences between inhibited and not inhibited children in the emergence of multiple > or = 2 anxiety disorders, avoidant disorder, and separation anxiety disorder in children who did not have these diagnoses at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that inhibited children are at high risk for developing childhood-onset anxiety disorders and provide additional support for the hypothesis that behavioral inhibition is a predictor of later anxiety disorder.

Adolescent↗

Are perinatal complications relevant to the manifestation of ADD? Issues of comorbidity and familiality.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the role of pregnancy, delivery, and infancy complications (PDICs) in the etiology of attention deficit disorder (ADD) addressing issues of comorbidity and familiarity by formulating and testing multiple hypotheses. METHOD: Subjects were six to 17-year-old boys with DSM-III attention deficit disorder (ADD, N = 73), psychiatric (N = 26), and normal (N = 26) controls and their relatives. Information on PDICs was obtained from the mothers in a standardized manner blind to the proband's clinical status. RESULTS: Using odds ratio analyses, an association was found between ADD and PDICs that was strongest for the comorbid and nonfamilial subtypes. In contrast, noncomorbid and familial ADD subgroups differed less from normal controls in the risk for PDICs. CONCLUSIONS: The increased risk for PDICs in nonfamilial ADD children and the lack of evidence for increased risk among familial ADD patients suggests that PDICs may be part of nongenetic etiologic mechanisms in this disorder, especially for children who have comorbid disorders.

Adolescent↗

Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents: concurrent validity in ADHD children.

OBJECTIVE: The assessment of children's adaptive functioning has broad-range implications for clinical practice, research, and public health, and relatively few well-developed assessment instruments are available. The validity of the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents (SAICA), a semistructured interview schedule that assesses adaptive functioning in children and adolescents, was examined. METHOD: Two groups of index children were examined: 140 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children (both psychiatric and pediatric referrals) and 120 normal comparisons. RESULTS: Concurrent validity was found for the SAICA in its significant association with the social competence scales of the Child Behavior Checklist and DSM-III-R's Global Assessment of Functioning. It was also found that among ADHD children, psychiatric comorbidity conferred an increased risk for worse adaptive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the SAICA is an effective way to assess adaptive functioning. Moreover, its ability to discriminate ADHD from control children and its association with psychiatric comorbidity indicate the SAICA measures adaptive functioning within a range relevant for studies of psychopathology.

Adolescent↗

Convergence of the Child Behavior Checklist with structured interview-based psychiatric diagnoses of ADHD children with and without comorbidity.

We evaluated the convergence of CBCL scales with the diagnosis of ADHD and comorbid disorders in 133 ADHD and 118 normal control boys, aged 6-17 years old. We evaluated the strength of association between each CBCL scale and structured-interview derived diagnoses with Total Predictive Value (TPV) and the odds-ratio (OR). Excellent convergence was found between the CBCL Attention Problems scale with the diagnosis of ADHD, between the Delinquent Behavior scale and the diagnosis of CD, and between the Anxiety/Depression scale and the diagnoses of Anxiety Disorders. These findings indicate that the CBCL could serve as a rapid and useful screening instrument to identify comorbid and non-comorbid cases of ADHD.

Adolescent↗

Patterns of psychiatric comorbidity, cognition, and psychosocial functioning in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a common disorder of childhood, its status as a disorder in adults is not clear. The authors reasoned that if the adult diagnosis of the disorder is a valid clinical entity, it should be similar to the childhood disorder with regard to patterns of psychiatric and cognitive findings. METHODS: Eighty-four adults with a clinical diagnosis of childhood-onset attention deficit hyperactivity disorder confirmed by structured interview who were referred for treatment were studied. Findings were compared with those from a preexisting study group of referred children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, nonreferred adult relatives of those children who also had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and adults without the disorder who were relatives of normal children. Subjects were evaluated with a comprehensive battery of psychiatric, cognitive, and psychosocial assessments. RESULTS: The referred and nonreferred adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were similar to one another but more disturbed and impaired than the comparison subjects without the disorder. The pattern of psychopathology, cognition, and functioning among the adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder approximated the findings for children with the disorder. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that referred and nonreferred adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have a pattern of demographic, psychosocial, psychiatric, and cognitive features that mirrors well-documented findings among children with the disorder. These findings further support the validity of the diagnosis for adults.

Adult↗

Evidence for the independent familial transmission of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities: results from a family genetic study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to clarify the relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities. METHOD: The authors assessed learning disabilities in a sample of 140 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and in 120 normal comparison children. They also assessed a sample of the probands' 822 first-degree relatives. RESULTS: The risk for learning disabilities was highest among relatives of probands with both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities. The two disorders did not cosegregate in families. There was nonrandom mating between spouses with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities. CONCLUSIONS: The two disorders are transmitted independently in families, and their co-occurrence may be due to nonrandom mating. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is likely to be etiologically independent from learning disabilities.

Adult↗

Further evidence for family-genetic risk factors in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Patterns of comorbidity in probands and relatives psychiatrically and pediatrically referred samples.

We examined 140 probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 120 normal controls, and their 822 first-degree relatives using "blind" raters and structured diagnostic interviews. Compared with controls, probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were more likely to have conduct, mood, and anxiety disorders. Compared with relatives of controls, relatives of probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had a higher risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial disorders, major depressive disorder, substance dependence, and anxiety disorders. Patterns of comorbidity indicate that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorders may share common familial vulnerabilities, that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder plus conduct disorder may be a distinct subtype, and that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety disorders are transmitted independently in families. These results extend previous findings indicating family-genetic influences in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by using both pediatrically and psychiatrically referred proband samples. The distributions of comorbid illnesses in families provide further validation for subgrouping probands with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by comorbidity.

Adolescent↗

Clomipramine hydrochloride in childhood and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder--a multicenter trial.

Children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder were studied in an 8-week, multicenter, double-blind, parallel groups trial of clomipramine hydrochloride (CMI) versus placebo. Efficacy assessments included the child version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and the National Institute of Mental Health Global rating scale. At the end of 8 weeks, CMI-treated patients showed a mean reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score of 37% compared to 8% in the placebo group. Side effects were typical of tricyclic antidepressants. In a 1-year open label treatment, CMI continued to be effective and well tolerated.

Adolescent↗

Stable behavioral inhibition and its association with anxiety disorder.

"Behavioral inhibition to the unfamiliar" is a temperamental construct reflecting the tendency to be shy, timid, and constrained in novel situations. Previous work has suggested that it may be associated with anxiety disorders in children. Psychopathology was assessed in children from a nonclinical sample originally identified as behaviorally inhibited or uninhibited at 21 months and followed through 7 1/2 years. Children who remained inhibited at 4, 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 years (Stable Inhibited) had higher rates of anxiety disorders than children who were not consistently inhibited. Their parents had higher rates of multiple childhood anxiety disorders and of continuing anxiety disorder. These results suggest that the association between behavioral inhibition and anxiety disorder is accounted for by children who have stable behavioral inhibition.

Anxiety Disorders↗

The disruptive behavioral disorder in children and adolescents: comorbidity and clinical course.

Comorbidity, time to recovery, rate of chronicity, and probability of recurrence following recovery were studied in 51 children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. Thirty-three percent of the children had two of the above diagnoses, and one child had all three diagnoses. The mean duration of attention deficit disorder was 8 years up to the time of the interview; the mean duration of oppositional defiant disorder was 4.5 years, and the mean duration of conduct disorder was 3 years. Life-table estimates showed that 14% of the children would not have recovered 15 years after the onset of their disorder. Rates of recurrence were high following recovery from each of these disorders.

Adolescent↗

Growth deficits in children treated with desipramine: a controlled study.

Using multiple assessment methods, growth deficits in weight and height were examined in a clinical sample of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treated chronically (mean 14 months) with desipramine (DMI) and two comparison samples of children treated chronically with methylphenidate (MPH) and a not-treated group. Although there were statistically significant weight deficits in children treated with both DMI and MPH compared with normal controls, only those treated with MPH sustained height deficits that attained statistical significance. It appears that DMI may be an appropriate alternative for patients with stimulant-associated severe suppression of growth in height.

Adolescent↗

Comorbidity between ADDH and learning disability: a review and report in a clinically referred sample.

A widely variable overlap ranging from 10 to 92% has been reported in the literature between attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) and learning disability (LD), most likely a result of inconsistencies in the criteria used to define LD in different studies. The following study seeks to more accurately determine rates of LD in clinically referred children. Using a psychometrically reliable methodological approach, it was expected that the rate of LD in ADDH children would be far more modest than previously reported. Subjects were referred children with ADDH (N = 60), children with academic problems (N = 30), and normal controls (N = 36) of both sexes with available psychological and achievement testing. Using a liberal definition of LD, significant differences were found between the groups (ADDH = 38% versus academic problems = 43% versus normals = 8%; p = 0.002). In contrast, more modest rates were found using two more stringent methods of assessment (23 and 17%; 10 and 3%; 2 and 0%, respectively; p = 0.02). Arithmetic-based LD appears to be equally identified by both stringent methods, whereas the liberal definition overidentified children in all three groups. These findings show that a liberal definition of LD overidentifies LD not only in ADDH children but also in normal children.

Achievement↗

Psychiatric comorbidity in attention deficit disorder: impact on the interpretation of Child Behavior Checklist results.

Studies have investigated associations between the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and clinical diagnoses without assessing the impact of comorbidity on these results. This study evaluates associations between parental reports from the CBCL and a structured diagnostic interview in children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) stratified by the presence (ADDH+) or absence (ADDH-) of psychiatric comorbidity. Interview-defined ADDH children scored significantly worse on all scales of the CBCL compared with scores from interview-defined non-ill comparisons. However, these findings were accounted for by the subgroup of children with ADDH+. The results indicate a good correspondence between CBCL-based ratings and interview-defined diagnoses. These findings also suggest that the CBCL may be a good screening instrument, not only for ADDH but also for comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Adolescent↗

Developmental changes in serum concentrations of desipramine and 2-hydroxydesipramine during treatment with desipramine.

Steady-state serum concentrations of desipramine (DMI) and its metabolite, 2-hydroxydesipramine (OHDMI), were measured in 40 children, 36 adolescents, and 27 adult psychiatric patients. The authors predicted that younger patients would show more efficient elimination of DMI, with greater amounts of OHDMI. OHDMI averaged 52% lower than DMI. DMI per weight-corrected dose (ng/mL: mg/kg) rose significantly with maturation, from 50 in children and 56 in adolescents to 91 in adults. Contrary to expectation, OHDMI per DMI dose also rose with age, from 17 in children and 20 in adolescents to 26 in adults. It was concluded that: (1) similar mg/kg doses of DMI result in lower DMI and OHDMI in children; (2) children metabolize both DMI and OHDMI more rapidly than adults; and (3) children do not have high circulating concentrations of OHDMI.

Adolescent↗