Prevalence of obesity/hypertension in children and adolescents with ADHD and evaluation of total body composition

Objective: Attention-deficithyperactivitydisorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral disorders in childhood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the obesity/hypertension prevalence of chil-dren with ADHD at the time of initialdiagnosis, to assessthe total body composition, and also to evaluate the asso-ciated risk factors. Methods: The study was carried out with 77 ADHD/100 healthy children and adolescent. All individuals completed a questionnaire form prepared by researchers. The weight, height, and blood pressure (BP) measurements were performed using standardized protocols. Total body composition analysis was performed by ‘bioelectrical impedance analysis’ method. Results: The obesity/hypertension prevalence in ADHD patients were 16.9%, 13.0%, respectively. The obesity prevalence was more frequent and diastolic BP values were higher in pa-tients than controls. Total body fat (%) was higher in both obese and non-obese patients. In females, sistolic BP and diastolic BP values were higher in ADHD group than control group. In girls sleep duration in weekend-days was shorter in patients. Paternal body mass index was higher in ADHD group. Consumption of chocolate/sugar/chicken/ fish and screen time>1 hour in a day were more common in ADHD patients. Conclusion: The high obesity/hyper-tension rates in our study emphasize that the assessment of weight/BP should be a part of the ADHD management. The ADHD patients may also have an increased risk of high total body fat even though individuals are not obese. Short sleep duration, consumption of a high amount of chocolate/sugar/chicken/fish, andscreen time>1 hour per day may be a risk factor for ADHD. (Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2019; 20(1):93-100)