Medical and psychiatric comorbidities in Korean children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract

Objective Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with a high rate of comorbid disorders. We aimed to investigate the medical and psychiatric comorbidities of Korean children and adolescents with ADHD. Methods Data were obtained from Korean National Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample (HI-RA-NPS) for 2011. We included 2,140 (mean age, 10.9±3.1 years; boys, 1,710) and 219,410 (non-ADHD; mean age, 12.4±3.7 years; boys, 113,704) children and adolescents with and without ADHD, respectively. We compared medical and psychiatric comorbidities between the groups, and performed weighted logistic regression analyses to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Most medical comorbidities were more likely in patients with ADHD and included nervous system disease (OR, 2.59; 95% CI, 2.52–2.66); endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic disease (OR, 2.09; 95% CI, 2.04–2.15); and congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.90–2.11). Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder were more prevalent in patients with ADHD (OR, 81.88; 95% CI, 79.00–84.86), followed by learning (OR, 75.61; 95% CI, 69.69–82.04), and depressive disorders (OR, 55.76; 95% CI, 54.44–57.11). Conclusion Our results suggest that Korean children and adolescents with ADHD are more likely to suffer medical and psychiatric comorbidities than those without ADHD.