Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms in childhood and substance use in adolescence: the youth gazel cohort

BACKGROUND: This study addresses in both genders the relationship between childhood Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and subsequent adolescent substance use, while controlling for psychiatric comorbidity, temperament and environmental risk factors. METHODS: 916 subjects (421 males, 495 females) aged 7-18 were recruited from the general population and surveyed in 1991 and 1999. Child psychopathology and substance use patterns were evaluated through parent and adolescent self-reports. Multivariate modeling was performed to assess the effects of childhood Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and other risk factors on adolescent substance use. RESULTS: In males, Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms alone accounted for the risk of subsequent regular cannabis smoking (OR=3.14, p=0.03) and subsequent lifetime use of other drugs including stimulants, opiates, inhalants and sedatives (OR=2.72, p=0.02). In females, Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms did not independently increase the liability to later substance use. In males, the temperament trait activity was a significant predictor of subsequent regular cannabis smoking (OR=2.32, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: This survey points to a possible specific link between Hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and subsequent cannabis use and experimentation of harder drugs in males.