Table 1.
Offspring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Demographic Factors, and Hypothesized Mediators by Maternal Exposure to Childhood Abuse (n = 49,497 Mothers; n = 109,758 Offspring), Nurses’ Health Study II, 1989–2013
| Variable | Maternal Exposure to Childhood Abuse | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 (No Abuse) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (Severe Abuse) | ||||||||
| % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | No. | |
| Maternal and child characteristics | ||||||||||||||
| Mothers | 13,208 | 10,936 | 9,436 | 9,181 | 4,145 | 1,575 | 1,016 | |||||||
| Offspringa | 29,324 | 24,576 | 20,918 | 20,265 | 9,047 | 3,467 | 2,161 | |||||||
| Offspring with ADHD | 5.5 | 1,606 | 6.5 | 1,608 | 7.0 | 1,461 | 8.0 | 1,626 | 8.9 | 803 | 9.1 | 315 | 8.7 | 188 |
| Offspring per motherb | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.2 (0.9) | 2.1 (0.9) | |||||||
| Maternal parents’ education, ≤high school | 44.4 | 5,861 | 46.8 | 5,114 | 48.6 | 4,582 | 50.7 | 4,658 | 53.2 | 2,207 | 55.4 | 873 | 54.1 | 550 |
| Male offspring | 52.1 | 15,265 | 52.0 | 12,767 | 51.9 | 10,848 | 51.7 | 10,467 | 51.7 | 4,673 | 52.8 | 1,830 | 51.6 | 1,114 |
| Perinatal factors | ||||||||||||||
| Maternal age at child’s birth, yearsb | 28.9 (4.7) | 28.8 (4.9) | 28.7 (4.9) | 28.5 (5.0) | 28.1 (5.1) | 27.5 (5.4) | 27.0 (5.5) | |||||||
| Birth weight (pounds) | ||||||||||||||
| <5.5 | 3.1 | 918 | 3.0 | 737 | 3.2 | 675 | 3.1 | 638 | 3.5 | 315 | 3.6 | 124 | 3.6 | 78 |
| ≥10 | 2.3 | 689 | 2.4 | 595 | 2.4 | 502 | 2.6 | 519 | 2.8 | 251 | 3.1 | 106 | 3.4 | 73 |
| Pregnancy length, weeks | ||||||||||||||
| <37 | 6.7 | 1,954 | 6.8 | 1,672 | 7.0 | 1,472 | 6.9 | 1,392 | 7.8 | 702 | 7.7 | 266 | 8.7 | 188 |
| ≥43 | 6.3 | 1,845 | 6.9 | 1,703 | 7.1 | 1,493 | 7.9 | 1,596 | 8.3 | 750 | 10.0 | 345 | 10.6 | 229 |
| Smoking during pregnancy | 7.9 | 2,319 | 9.2 | 2,270 | 10.5 | 2,186 | 12.1 | 2,450 | 13.7 | 1,235 | 15.8 | 547 | 15.1 | 326 |
| Gestational diabetes | 2.5 | 743 | 2.9 | 704 | 2.8 | 580 | 3.8 | 761 | 4.0 | 361 | 4.1 | 142 | 4.5 | 98 |
| Pregestational BMIc | ||||||||||||||
| 25.0–29.9 (overweight) | 10.4 | 3,040 | 11.9 | 2,926 | 12.3 | 2,577 | 13.6 | 2,758 | 13.7 | 1,242 | 14.4 | 498 | 15.4 | 333 |
| ≥30.0 (obese) | 3.0 | 875 | 3.2 | 796 | 3.8 | 799 | 4.1 | 836 | 4.6 | 418 | 4.9 | 171 | 5.9 | 127 |
| Antidepressant use | 0.5 | 138 | 0.7 | 161 | 0.9 | 195 | 1.1 | 223 | 1.5 | 134 | 1.4 | 47 | 2.0 | 44 |
| Intimate partner violence | ||||||||||||||
| Once | 0.7 | 194 | 0.9 | 220 | 1.0 | 216 | 1.6 | 324 | 2.1 | 194 | 2.6 | 91 | 3.2 | 70 |
| More than once | 0.4 | 113 | 0.6 | 153 | 0.8 | 173 | 1.4 | 279 | 2.2 | 199 | 2.7 | 94 | 5.2 | 112 |
| Preeclampsia | 3.3 | 969 | 3.7 | 901 | 3.8 | 797 | 4.7 | 958 | 5.4 | 484 | 5.1 | 177 | 7.1 | 154 |
| Prior induced abortion | 9.5 | 2,785 | 11.4 | 2,795 | 11.7 | 2,456 | 13.0 | 2,626 | 15.5 | 1,406 | 14.6 | 506 | 14.7 | 318 |
| Alcohol use during pregnancy | 11.8 | 3,470 | 13.0 | 3,189 | 14.2 | 2,971 | 14.4 | 2,913 | 14.3 | 1,297 | 14.5 | 501 | 14.5 | 314 |
| Socioeconomic indicators | ||||||||||||||
| Husband’s education, 1999, <4 years college | 33.1 | 9,701 | 34.6 | 8,503 | 34.1 | 7,114 | 34.6 | 7,018 | 35.6 | 3,220 | 37.2 | 1,288 | 38.9 | 840 |
| Maternal self-reported social standing in United States, 2001b,d | 3.8 (1.2) | 3.8 (1.3) | 3.8 (1.3) | 3.9 (1.3) | 4.0 (1.3) | 4.1 (1.4) | 4.2 (1.5) | |||||||
| Maternal self-reported social standing in community, 2001b,d | 3.9 (1.5) | 4.0 (1.5) | 4.0 (1.5) | 4.1 (1.6) | 4.2 (1.7) | 4.2 (1.7) | 4.4 (1.8) | |||||||
| Census tract median family income, 1989, $1000sb | 61.9 (22.5) | 61.3 (22.2) | 61.3 (22.4) | 61.5 (21.7) | 59.5 (21.6) | 60.2 (22.6) | 57.8 (20.0) | |||||||
| Census tract college educated, 1989, %b | 30.0 (17.1) | 29.7 (17.0) | 29.6 (17.1) | 29.5 (16.8) | 28.3 (16.7) | 28.6 (17.2) | 26.8 (15.9) | |||||||
| Income, 2001, <$50,000 | 10.3 | 3,033 | 10.8 | 2,656 | 11.6 | 2,427 | 12.4 | 2,508 | 13.8 | 1,249 | 15.7 | 543 | 18.7 | 404 |
| Marital status, 1989, divorced or separated | 5.5 | 1,609 | 5.9 | 1,443 | 6.2 | 1,304 | 7.4 | 1,493 | 9.5 | 859 | 11.5 | 397 | 13.0 | 281 |
Abbreviations: ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; BMI, body mass index.
a Offspring birth year by maternal exposure to childhood abuse, median (interquartile range): None: 1984 (1978–1989); 1: 1984 (1979–1989); 2: 1984 (1978–1989); 3: 1984 (1978–1989); 4: 1983 (1977–1988); 5: 1982 (1976–1987); 6: 1981 (1975–1987).
b Values are expressed as mean (standard deviation).
c Weight (kg)/height (m)2.
d Lower number = higher standing.