Prenatal Care Links with ADHD

Lipid Panel During Pregnancy

According to a new study, understanding your lipid profile during pregnancy, can be important in lowering the risk of ADHD.

Lipid profiles are a panel of blood tests that serve as an initial medical tool for detecting abnormalities in the blood, such as in Cholesterol.

According to a recent study from a team associated with Johns Hopkins University, low maternal HDL cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels outside the standard range of 135 to 176 mg/dL, is associated with an increased risk of ADHD.

This research suggests pregnant women maintain higher HDL levels for adequate fetal brain development and reduction of ADHD risk.

Several potential causes of ADHD have been identified during pregnancy, like gene variants, structural abnormalities of the brain, and neurotransmitter dysfunction.

Are Drugs Like Tylenol (Acetaminophen) During Pregnancy Linked with ADHD Diagnosis?

There is no reason to believe that short term use is harmful.   However, new data suggests that there may be some concern for long term use.

According to a large study published in the journal of Pediatrics, an association between frequent prenatal acetaminophen use, and ADHD seems to be apparent.

According to their research, those who report long-term exposure to acetaminophen, which is considered 29 consecutive days or more of continuous use, have more than double the risk of A.D.H.D.

Their data suggests that the risk of ADHD actually goes down for women who used acetaminophen for less than seven days.

This does not prove direct cause and effect. There are other possible explanations for the correlation.  However, this new information does raise possible concerns to make experts skeptical in making recommendations.

What this study can lead some to believe, is the consistency of the association between acetaminophen and an ADHD diagnosis leading some people to assume it is not risk-free.

The complexities of pregnancy and medications and the many unanswered questions of correlations between prenatal care and diagnosis of ADHD demand more research and information.