Decreased serum levels of total and high molecular weight adiponectin in treatment-naive children with ADHD

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered to be one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to examine serum levels of total and High Molecular Weight (HMW) adiponectin, and also HMW/total adiponectin ratio with respect to ADHD symptomatology in children. Methods: Serum levels of total adiponectin and HMW adiponectin were measured by commercial enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay kits in 44 treatment-naive children with ADHD and age, gender matched 44 healthy controls. ADHD symptoms were scored by Conners' Parent Rating Scale-Revised Short (CPRS-RS) and ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS). Body Mass Index-Standart Deviation Scores (BMI-SDS) of all children were evaluated. Results: There were no significant difference in terms of gender, age and BMI-SDS between ADHD and healthy control groups (respectively, p=1, p=0.475, p=0.097). We found that serum total, HMW adiponectin levels and HMW adiponectin/total adiponectin ratio were significantly lower in ADHD group compared to controls (p<0.001). In logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, gender and BMI-SDS, we observed that serum total and HMW adiponectin levels as well as HMW/total adiponectin ratio were associated with ADHD (p<0.001). Additionally, in partial correlations adjusting for age and BMI-SDS in ADHD group, we detected significantly negative correlations between total adiponectin, HMW adiponectin, HMW/total adiponectin ratio and CPRS-RS hyperactivity (p=0.031, p=0.016, p=0.007, respectively), ADHD-RS hyperactive-impulsive (p<0.001), ADHD-RS total symptom scores (p=0.015, p=0.010, p=0.005, respectively). Discussion: To our knowledge, the present study is the first to examine serum HMW adiponectin levels in ADHD children and also to investigate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and serum levels of total and HMW adiponectin. The results of our study indicate that total and HMW adiponectin may be associated with ADHD.