Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbidity in a school sample of children

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of conduct disorder (CD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: This study was performed with children between 7 and 11 years old who fit the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (n=35) to ADHD, normal neurologic examination and abnormal evolutionary neurological examination (ENE) by Lefèvre. Parents answered a questionnaire with DSM-IV criteria to ADHD and comorbidities. Result ADHD combined subtype was the most prevalent (51.4%). Fourteen (40%) had CD, including two with both CD and OCD. Five (14.2%) had only ODD and one (2.8%) only OCD. Eleven of fourteen children (78.5%) with CD had also ADHD combined subtype, with significant statistical difference (p<0.05). Eleven of fifteen children (73.3%) without comorbidity had inattentive or hyperactive subtype (p<0.05). Conclusion: The frequency of association between CD and ADHD was high, much more in combined subtype.