Abstract
Evidence has suggested that parental age at birth is a risk factor of offspring attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies investigating the association between parental age and offspring ADHD. We conducted a systematic search that followed the recommended guidelines for performing meta-analyses on PUBMED, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to 8 April 2021. We calculated pooled risk estimates from individual age with and without adjusting for possible confounding factors. Dose–response analysis for parental age and ADHD risk was performed. Eleven studies were selected in this meta-analysis, which included 111,101 cases and 4,417,148 participants. Compared with the reference points, the lowest parental age category was associated with an increased risk of ADHD in the offspring, with adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 1.49 (95% confidence intervals (95%CI) 1.19–1.87) and 1.75 (95%CI 1.31–2.36) for the mother and father, respectively. The highest parental age was statistically insignificant, with adjusted ORs of 1.11 (95%CI 0.79–1.55) and 0.93 (95%CI 0.70–1.23) for mother and father separately. Dose–response analysis indicated a non-linear relationship of parental age with offspring ADHD, with the lowest ADHD risk at 31–35 years old. The results of this meta-analysis support an association between young parental age and the risk of ADHD. More high-quality studies are needed to establish whether the association with parental age is causal.
Highlights
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood and adolescence, with a worldwide epidemiological prevalence of5.3% (5.01–5.56%)
The analysis revealed that estimates of ADHD-associated costs ranged from USD 831.38 to 20,538 per person, and from USD 356 million to 20.27 billion for every high-income country [4]
The main results of the current meta-analysis were the following: (1) lower parental age was associated with an increased risk of ADHD in the offspring; (2) there was no the association between paternal age and the risk of offspring ADHD was non-linear (p = 0.007) in four studies eligible for dose–response meta-analysis
Summary
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood and adolescence, with a worldwide epidemiological prevalence of5.3% (5.01–5.56%). The core symptoms of ADHD are inattentiveness, impulsivity, and motor unrest [1,2]. The analysis revealed that estimates of ADHD-associated costs ranged from USD 831.38 to 20,538 per person, and from USD 356 million to 20.27 billion for every high-income country [4]. ADHD is a multifactorial disease, and both genetic and environmental risk factors can lead to child ADHD. 10–40% of the association with ADHD was accounted for by environmental factors [7]. Some perinatal risk factors such as maternal substance use and stress, parental age, and low birth weight are reported to contribute to child ADHD [8]. Parental age at childbirth has been suggested as a possible risk factor for ADHD
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