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Blood Levels of Trace Elements in Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Results from a Case-Control
Rongwang Yang1, Yanyi Zhang2, Weijia Gao2
1Department of Child Psychology, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No.57, Zhuganxiang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. colortea@zju.edu.cn.
Insights
Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have lower blood zinc levels. Lower zinc was linked to more severe ADHD inattentive symptoms, suggesting a role for zinc in ADHD pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Nutritional Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Trace elements play a role in neurodevelopment and behavior.
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder.
- Altered trace element status has been implicated in ADHD pathogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the blood levels of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), and lead (Pb) in children with ADHD.
- To compare trace element levels between children with ADHD and healthy controls.
- To assess the association between trace element levels and ADHD symptom severity.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 419 children with ADHD and 395 controls.
- Measured whole blood concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu, Mg, and Pb using atomic absorption spectrometry.
- Assessed ADHD symptoms using SNAP-IV rating scales and correlated with element levels.
Main Results:
- Children with ADHD exhibited significantly lower blood zinc levels compared to controls.
- The number of elements outside the normal range was higher in the ADHD group.
- Lower zinc levels were negatively correlated with inattentive symptoms and total ADHD scores.
Conclusions:
- Blood zinc levels are altered in children with ADHD.
- Zinc deficiency may be associated with increased symptom severity in ADHD.
- Further research is warranted to explore zinc's role in ADHD and potential therapeutic implications.
Abstract:
Some trace elements may participate in the pathogenesis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to investigate the trace element status of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), and lead (Pb) in children with ADHD, and to compare them with normal controls. Associations between examined elements and SNAP-IV rating scores of ADHD symptoms were also assessed. Four hundred nineteen children with ADHD (8.8 ± 2.1 years) and 395 matched normal controls (8.9 ± 1.7 years) were recruited in the study. The concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu, Mg, and Pb in the whole blood were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Lower zinc levels (P < 0.001) and the number out of normal ranges (P = 0.015) were found in children with ADHD when compared with the normal control group. The difference remained when adjusting the factor of BMI z-score. No significant between-group differences were found in levels of other elements. Zinc levels were negatively correlated with parent-rated scores of inattentive subscale of SNAP-IV (r = - 0.40) as well as with total score of SNAP-IV (r = - 0.24). Other significant associations were not observed. The present results indicated that there were alterations in blood levels of zinc, which was associated with the symptom scores of ADHD.
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