Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 1, 2025
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
Does rapid rebound height growth come at a neurocognitive cost for previously institutionalized youth?
Brie M Reid1,2, Danruo Zhong3, Bonny Donzella3
1Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Insights
Rapid height catch-up growth in previously institutionalized children is linked to increased attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. This catch-up growth may negatively impact attention regulation and behavior.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Height growth faltering is linked to poorer behavioral and educational outcomes.
- Catch-up growth post-delay can have mixed effects, potentially impacting neurocognitive functioning like attention and hyperactivity.
- Previously institutionalized (PI) children offer a unique cohort to study catch-up growth and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms due to post-adoption growth patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between catch-up height-for-age growth and attention problems in previously institutionalized youth.
- To analyze individual growth trajectories from adoption through kindergarten.
Main Methods:
- Latent growth curve modeling was employed to examine height-for-age growth patterns.
- Participants (PI youth) were assessed from 18-36 months of age, with anthropometrics measured four times.
- Behavioral outcomes, including ADHD symptoms, were assessed via parent and teacher reports at age 5 and kindergarten.
Main Results:
- The rate of height z-score change (slope), not the initial height (intercept), was positively associated with ADHD symptoms.
- A one standard deviation increase in height z-score slope correlated with a 0.252 standard deviation increase in ADHD symptoms.
- Growth rate was also associated with internalizing symptoms, but not externalizing symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Previously institutionalized children show varied height growth trajectories post-adoption.
- Accelerated catch-up growth in height-for-age was associated with higher ADHD symptom levels.
- Catch-up growth may come at the expense of attention regulation and increased hyperactivity.
Background:
Height growth faltering is associated with less optimal behavioral outcomes and educational achievement. Although catch-up growth after growth delay may result in developmental gains, it may also present as a double-edged sword, with consequences for neurocognitive functioning such as symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. As previously institutionalized (PI) children experience height delays at adoption and catch-up growth after adoption, they provide a cohort to test associations between catch-up growth and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
Methods:
This study used latent growth curve modeling to examine how catch-up in height-for-age growth is related to attention problems in a population of PI youth followed from adoption in infancy through kindergarten. Participants were assessed within three months of arrival into their families (age at entry: 18-36 months). Anthropometrics were measured four times, approximately 7 months apart. Two visits measured behavioral outcomes with parent and teacher reports of ADHD, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms at age 5 and kindergarten.
Results:
The slope of growth in height z-scores, but not the intercept, was positively associated with parent- and teacher-reported ADHD symptoms in children. A one standard deviation increase in the slope of height z-scores across four assessments was associated with a 0.252 standard deviation increase in ADHD symptoms after controlling for internalizing and externalizing problems, iron status, duration of institutional care, sex, and age. The slope of growth was also associated with internalizing but not externalizing symptoms.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that PI children exhibit individual trajectories of height growth postadoption. Higher rates of change in height-for-age growth were associated with increased ADHD symptoms. These results suggest that catch-up growth comes 'at the cost' of poor attention regulation and hyperactive behavior.
More Related Videos
08:13Development and Implementation of a Multi-Disciplinary Technology Enhanced Care Pathway for Youth and Adults with Concussion
Published on: January 20, 2019
05:48Autonomic Function Following Concussion in Youth Athletes: An Exploration of Heart Rate Variability Using 24-hour Recording Methodology
Published on: September 21, 2018
Related Concept Videos
01:10Nature and Nurture
01:24Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
01:18Cognitive Development During Adolescence
01:30Cognitive Development During Adulthood
01:30Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....
01:01Neuroplasticity