Lead exposure linked to ADHD in kids with genetic mutation
This research is valuable to the scientific community as it bridges genetic and environmental factors and helps to illustrate one possible route to ADHD. Further, it demonstrates the potential to ultimately prevent conditions like ADHD by understanding how genes and environmental exposures combine," says lead researcher Joel Nigg, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the OHSU School of Medicine. To conduct this research, Nigg and colleagues evaluated lead blood level in 386 healthy children aged 6 to 17. Half of the children had been carefully diagnosed with ADHD. All children were within the safe lead exposure range as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the blood lead level in the sample was typical of the national U.S. population of children. The analysis showed a heightened association between lead exposure and ADHD symptoms -- particularly hyperactivity-impulsivity -- in those with the HFE C282Y gene mutation, present in app...