The Norwegian longitudinal ADHD cohort study (2014-ongoing)

Project members at OUS/UiO: Beate Ørbeck, Svein Friis; Are Hugo Pripp; Christine Ingeborgrud.

Collaborators: Heidi Aase and Guido Biele (National institute of public health); Guilherme V. Polanczyk (University of Sao Paolo, Brazil)

The main objective of the study is to provide increased knowledge to better identify preschool children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 

The knowledge will be valuable for the patients and their families, as well as for the healthcare system, as healthcare professionals at the municipal and specialist healthcare levels will be better equipped to assess preschool children. In the long run, there is reason to believe that the knowledge from the project can benefit children with ADHD through earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Project Description

ADHD is characterized by restlessness, impulsivity, and inattention, with onset in early childhood and a chronic course. However, ADHD is often challenging to identify in the youngest children. Comorbidities such as anxiety and depression are common.

The project is a follow-up study (to age 8 years) of the "The Preschool ADHD Study: Early characteristics, developmental trajectories, risk, and protective factors in a prospective birth cohort" (The ADHD Study) where nearly 1200 preschoolers were clinically assessed at Oslo University Hospital. The participants were included from The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Study (MoBa); an ongoing prospective population-based cohort study of Norwegian-speaking pregnant women conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which started in 1999.

In this project we have examined the agreement between parent- and teacher-reported ADHD in preschool age and then studied the trajectory of ADHD symptoms reported by parents and teachers from ages three to five and from three to eight years. This study has one PhD project about anxiety and depression in children with and without ADHD symptoms (link til Ingeborgrud PhD project nede her)

Publications:

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Pripp AH, Aase H, Biele G, Ingeborgrud CB, Polanczyk GV, Zeiner P (2023) Early and repeated screening detects children with persistent attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry (in press) DOI 10.1007/s00787-023-02284-8, PubMed 37624573

Hall AM, Keil AP, Choi G, Ramos AM, Richardson DB, Olshan AF, Martin CL, Villanger GD, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Zeiner P, Øvergaard KR, Sakhi AK, Thomsen C, Aase H, Engel SM (2023) Prenatal organophosphate ester exposure and executive function in Norwegian preschoolers Environ Epidemiol, 7 (3), e251 DO 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000251, PubMed 37304339

Biele G, Lekhal R, Overgaard KR, Vaage Wang M, Eek Brandlistuen R, Friis S, Zeiner P (2022) The effect of special educational assistance in early childhood education and care on psycho-social difficulties in elementary school children Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health, 16 (1), 14 DOI 10.1186/s13034-022-00442-5, PubMed 35209931

Biele G, Overgaard KR, Friis S, Zeiner P, Aase H (2022) Cognitive, emotional, and social functioning of preschoolers with attention deficit hyperactivity problems BMC Psychiatry, 22 (1), 78 DOI 10.1186/s12888-021-03638-9, PubMed 35105343

Hall AM, Ramos AM, Drover SS, Choi G, Keil AP, Richardson DB, Martin CL, Olshan AF, Villanger GD, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Zeiner P, Øvergaard KR, Sakhi AK, Thomsen C, Aase H, Engel SM (2022) Gestational organophosphate ester exposure and preschool attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child cohort study Int J Hyg Environ Health, 248, 114078 DOI 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114078, PubMed 36455478

Manley CK, Villanger GD, Thomsen C, Cequier E, Sakhi AK, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Herring AH, Øvergaard KR, Zeiner P, Roell KR, Engel LS, Kamai EM, Thistle J, Hall A, Aase H, Engel SM (2022) Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides and Preschool ADHD in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19 (13) DOI 10.3390/ijerph19138148, PubMed 35805806

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Pripp AH, Aase H, Biele G, Ingeborgrud CB, Polanczyk GV, Zeiner P (2022) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from preschool to school age: change and stability of parent and teacher reports Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 32 (10), 1947-1955 DOI 10.1007/s00787-022-02019-1, PubMed 35737107

Thistle JE, Ramos A, Roell KR, Choi G, Manley CK, Hall AM, Villanger GD, Cequier E, Sakhi AK, Thomsen C, Zeiner P, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Øvergaard KR, Herring A, Aase H, Engel SM (2022) Prenatal organophosphorus pesticide exposure and executive function in preschool-aged children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) Environ Res, 212 (Pt D), 113555
DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113555, PubMed 35613628

Choi G, Villanger GD, Drover SSM, Sakhi AK, Thomsen C, Nethery RC, Zeiner P, Knudsen GP, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Øvergaard KR, Herring AH, Skogan AH, Biele G, Aase H, Engel SM (2021) Prenatal phthalate exposures and executive function in preschool children Environ Int, 149, 106403 DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106403, PubMed 33524667

Kamai EM, Villanger GD, Nethery RC, Thomsen C, Sakhi AK, Drover SSM, Hoppin JA, Knudsen GP, Reichborn-Kjennerud T, Zeiner P, Overgaard K, Herring AH, Aase H, Engel SM (2021) Gestational Phthalate Exposure and Preschool Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Norway
Environ Epidemiol, 5 (4), e161 DOI 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000161, PubMed 34414345

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Pripp AH, Aase H, Zeiner P (2021) Predictive validity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from ages 3 to 5 Years
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 31 (7), 1-10 DOI 10.1007/s00787-021-01750-5, PubMed 33677627

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Biele G, Pripp AH, Aase H, Zeiner P (2019) Screening with an ADHD-specific rating scale in preschoolers: A cross-cultural comparison of the Early Childhood Inventory-4
Psychol Assess, 31 (8), 985-994 DOI 10.1037/pas0000722, PubMed 30958025

Skogheim TS, Villanger GD, Weyde KVF, Engel SM, Surén P, Øie MG, Skogan AH, Biele G, Zeiner P, Øvergaard KR, Haug LS, Sabaredzovic A, Aase H (2019) Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and associations with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and cognitive functions in preschool children Int J Hyg Environ ealth, 223 (1), 80-92 DOI 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.10.003, PubMed 31653559

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Pripp AH, Biele G, Aase H, Zeiner P (2018)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Preschoolers: The Accuracy of a Short Screener J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 57 (6), 428-435 DOI 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.03.008, PubMed 29859558

Overgaard KR, Oerbeck B, Friis S, Pripp AH, Biele G, Aase H, Zeiner P (2018) Dr. Øvergaard et al. Reply J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 57 (9), 701-702 DOI 10.1016/j.jaac.2018.05.021, PubMed 30196877