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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. ADHD
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1441102

The association between symptoms of developmental coordination disorder and neuropsychological characteristics in children with and without ADHD

Provisionally accepted
Taeyeop Lee Taeyeop Lee 1Jongseok Lim Jongseok Lim 1*Seonok Kim Seonok Kim 2*Jichul Kim Jichul Kim 1*Kee Jeong Park Kee Jeong Park 1Yoo-Sook Joung Yoo-Sook Joung 3Hyo-Won Kim Hyo-Won Kim 1*
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 3 Department of Psychiatry, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently co-occurs with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). This study aimed to evaluate the association between DCD symptoms and neuropsychological characteristics in children with and without ADHD.We recruited 298 children aged 5-12 years. Motor performance was assessed using the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), while ADHD symptoms were assessed using the ADHD Rating Scale (ARS) and the Advanced Test of Attention (ATA). Cognitive characteristics were measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, and behavioral characteristics were assessed using the Korean Personality Rating Scale for Children.The children had a mean age of 7.6 ± 1.7 years, with 214 (71.8%) being boys. Among children diagnosed with ADHD (n = 176), 39.2% exceeded the DCDQ cutoff score, compared to 4.1% in the neurotypical group (n = 122). In the correlation analysis, the DCDQ total score was significantly correlated with ARS, omission and commission errors in visual and auditory ATA, and full-scale intellectual quotient. In addition, symptoms of depression, social dysfunction, and psychosis were correlated with the DCDQ total score.In the between-group analysis, children with both ADHD and DCD exhibited more omission errors on the auditory ATA and behavioral problems related to depression, social dysfunction, and psychosis compared to children with ADHD only.Our study indicates that children with ADHD exhibit more difficulties in motor performance.Children with both ADHD and DCD may present with a greater burden of psychiatric conditions than children with ADHD only, suggesting the need for careful monitoring in clinical practice.

    Keywords: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), Developmental coordination disorder questionnaire (DCDQ), cognitive profile, Behavioral characteristics

    Received: 30 May 2024; Accepted: 10 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lee, Lim, Kim, Kim, Park, Joung and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jongseok Lim, Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    Seonok Kim, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Asan Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    Jichul Kim, Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    Hyo-Won Kim, Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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