What are the risk factors of ADHD?

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What are the risk factors of ADHD?

ADHD is largely a hereditary condition. If one or both parents have been diagnosed with ADHD, their children are more likely to have it as well. Although the exact etiology (i.e., origins) of ADHD are ill-defined, healthcare providers report other associated risk factors:

  • Biological: ADHD is associated with the way certain neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain that help control behavior) work, especially dopamine and norepinephrine, and this difference causes changes in two different attentional networks of the brain — the default network, associated with automatic attention and the task positive network, associated with directed or effortful attention.
  • Environment: Exposure to toxins (poisons) in the environment (lead, for example) has been linked to ADHD in children.
  • Prenatal substance exposure (during pregnancy): Smoking and/or drug and alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with ADHD in children.

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