Adult mood problems in children with neurodevelopmental problems: evidence from a prospective birth cohort followed to age 50.

Purpose: Specific child neurodevelopmental (ND) disorders such as ADHD and learning problems are associated with concurrent and future (up to early adulthood) mood problems. However, it is unclear whether findings generalise to population traits as well as diagnoses, to general as well as specific neurodevelopmental domains, and whether risk associations extend to later adulthood or diminish with age.

Methods: We used data from a UK cohort of children born in 1958, the National Child Development Study (NCDS).