Abstract:

Objective: This study aimed to investigate psychiatric comorbidity and sleep problems and their relationships with ADHD presentation, age and gender in a clinical sample of children and adolescents with ADHD. Material and Method: One hundred fifty-four subjects aged 6-17 were included in the study. A semi-structured diagnostic interview was conducted to screen psychiatric disorders. The Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ) were used to investigate internalizing difficulties and sleep problems. Results: Overall high rates of comorbid disorders (78%) and sleep problems (97%) were found. ADHD-C was significantly more frequent in males and ADHD-I was more frequent in females (p<0.001). While oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), enuresis and encopresis were more frequent in subjects with ADHD-C (p<0.05), generalized anxiety (GAD) and social anxiety (SAD) disorders were more frequent in subjects with ADHD-I (p<0.05). Females, compared to males, had more frequent diagnoses of depression (p=0.021) and SAD (p=0.03). The majority of subjects (96.7%) scored above the cut off score of 41 in CSHQ (50.51±5.86). The ADHD-C group had significantly higher CSHQ total scores than the ADHD-I group (p<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between CSHQ total scores and the number of lifetime comorbid diagnoses (p=0.006), self-reported anxiety (p=0.009) and depressive (p=0.004) symptoms. Conclusion: Comorbidity and sleep problems may be common in young people with ADHD and may have complex reciprocal relations with several factors including ADHD presentation, age, and gender.

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