Aetiology for the covariation between combined type ADHD and reading difficulties in a family study: the role of IQ

Cheung, Celeste H.M., Wood, Alexis C., Paloyelis, Yannis, Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro, Buitelaar, Jan K., Franke, Barbara, Miranda, Ana, Mulas, Fernando, Rommelse, Nanda, Sergeant, Joseph A., Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J.S., Faraone, Stephen V., Asherson, Philip and Kuntsi, Jonna (2012) Aetiology for the covariation between combined type ADHD and reading difficulties in a family study: the role of IQ. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02527.x).

Abstract

Twin studies using both clinical and population-based samples suggest that the frequent co-occurrence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading ability/disability (RD) is largely driven by shared genetic influences. While both disorders are associated with lower IQ, recent twin data suggest that the shared genetic variability between reading difficulties and ADHD inattention symptoms is largely independent from genetic influences contributing to general cognitive ability. The current study aimed to extend the previous findings that were based on rating scale measures in a population sample by examining the generalisability of the findings to a clinical population, and by measuring reading difficulties both with a rating scale and with an objective task. This study investigated the familial relationships between ADHD, reading difficulties and IQ in a sample of individuals diagnosed with ADHD combined type, their siblings and control sibling pairs.

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