METHODS: Severity of IA and ADHD traits was assessed by self-report scales. Subjects were 403 college students (response rate 78%) who completed a questionnaire including Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-V1.1.
RESULTS: Out of 403 subjects, 165 were male. The mean age was 18.4 ± 1.2 years, and mean total IAT score was 45.2 ± 12.6. One hundred forty-eight respondents (36.7%) were average Internet users (IAT < 40), 240 (59.6%) had possible addiction (IAT 40-69), and 15 (3.7%) had severe addiction (IAT ≥ 70). Mean length of Internet use was 4.1 ± 2.8 h/day on weekdays and 5.9 ± 3.7 h/day on the weekend. Females used the Internet mainly for social networking services while males preferred online games. Students with a positive ADHD screen scored significantly higher on the IAT than those negative for ADHD screen (50.2 ± 12.9 vs 43.3 ± 12.0).
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that Internet misuse may be related to ADHD traits among Japanese youth. Further investigation of the links between IA and ADHD is warranted.
METHOD: A cross sectional study was carried out where caretakers of cleft lip and/or palate were asked to complete the translated Malay language version of Strength Difficulties Questionnaire. The hearing status of the children was analyzed based on recent pure tone audiometric and tympanogram results. The patients' age, gender, type of cleft pathology, age of palatal surgery and behavioural patterns were examined for their potential relationship with hearing status.
RESULTS: A total of 74 children (148 ears) aged between 7 and 17 years with cleft lip and/or palate were recruited. The result showed 37 ears (25.0%) had hearing loss with majority suffered from mild conductive hearing loss. There were 16 ears (10.8%) that had persistent middle ear effusion. Hearing improvement occurred when palatal repair was performed at the age of less than 1 year old. (p = 0.015) There was no significant relationship between patients' gender, age, type of cleft and history of myringotomy with their hearing status. In terms of behavioural patterns, 16.3% were abnormal for total behavioural score, 39.2% for peer problem and 17.6% for conduct problem. For prosocial behaviour, 16.3% were rated low and very low. There was fair correlation between age and hyperactivity problems (r = 0.44). Patients' gender, type of cleft pathology, had been teased apart and hearing status was found not related to behavioural problems.
CONCLUSION: Cleft lip and/or palate patients have a good longterm hearing outcome. Majority had normal hearing and if there is hearing impairment, it is only a mild loss. Early palatal repair surgery before the age of 1 year can significantly reduce the risk of hearing loss. Cleft lip and/or palate patients experienced peer problems. There was no significant correlation between behavioural difficulty and hearing status among school-aged children with cleft lip and palate.
METHODS: We analysed genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for the five disorders in 33,332 cases and 27,888 controls of European ancestory. To characterise allelic effects on each disorder, we applied a multinomial logistic regression procedure with model selection to identify the best-fitting model of relations between genotype and phenotype. We examined cross-disorder effects of genome-wide significant loci previously identified for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and used polygenic risk-score analysis to examine such effects from a broader set of common variants. We undertook pathway analyses to establish the biological associations underlying genetic overlap for the five disorders. We used enrichment analysis of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data to assess whether SNPs with cross-disorder association were enriched for regulatory SNPs in post-mortem brain-tissue samples.
FINDINGS: SNPs at four loci surpassed the cutoff for genome-wide significance (p<5×10(-8)) in the primary analysis: regions on chromosomes 3p21 and 10q24, and SNPs within two L-type voltage-gated calcium channel subunits, CACNA1C and CACNB2. Model selection analysis supported effects of these loci for several disorders. Loci previously associated with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia had variable diagnostic specificity. Polygenic risk scores showed cross-disorder associations, notably between adult-onset disorders. Pathway analysis supported a role for calcium channel signalling genes for all five disorders. Finally, SNPs with evidence of cross-disorder association were enriched for brain eQTL markers.
INTERPRETATION: Our findings show that specific SNPs are associated with a range of psychiatric disorders of childhood onset or adult onset. In particular, variation in calcium-channel activity genes seems to have pleiotropic effects on psychopathology. These results provide evidence relevant to the goal of moving beyond descriptive syndromes in psychiatry, and towards a nosology informed by disease cause.
FUNDING: National Institute of Mental Health.