Social and sex differences in psychiatric comorbidity and psychosocial functioning among adolescents with depression.

Background: To determine social and sex differences in psychosocial functioning and psychiatric comorbidity among adolescents with depression.

Methods: A cohort-based study in Stockholm, Sweden. Adolescents who turned 13 years during 2001-2007, were followed in registers until they turned 18 in 2005-2011, (n = 169,262).

Symptoms and level of functioning related to comorbidity in children and adolescents with ADHD: a cross-sectional registry study.

Background: It is well known that a wide range of psychiatric disorders co-occur with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this study we aimed to examine the associations of psychiatric comorbidity in ADHD with symptom severity and level of functioning.

Methods: We used data from the Swedish National Quality Registry for ADHD Treatment Follow-up and identified comorbid diagnoses in a sample of 3246 Swedish children and adolescents with ADHD.

Randomised trial showed no difference in behavioural symptoms between surgical methods treating paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea.

Aim: Our previous randomised controlled trial of children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) showed no significant differences between adenotonsillectomy (ATE) and adenotonsillotomy (ATT) in improving nocturnal respiration and quality of life after 1 year. The aim of this report was to evaluate the effects on behavioural symptoms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

Methods: Children between 2 and 6 years with OSA were randomised to ATT or ATE.

The Sävsjö-school-project: a cluster-randomized trial aimed at improving the literacy of beginners-achievements, mental health, school satisfaction and reading capacity at the end of grade three using an alternative school curriculum.

Background: A curriculum was planned using modern concepts based on the "old" principles to test if such an educational intervention provided pupils with good mental health and a solid basis for good reading and writing skills, as well as generated a positive attitude to learn. These "old" principles were based on previous knowledge derived from school psychiatry (which in Sweden was a branch of child and adolescent psychiatry 1915-1970), educational psychology and the educational approach from the differentiating Swedish School system of 1946-1970 (itself based on the principles of curative education "Heilpädagogie", which was later renamed mental health care).

Methods: All six available schools in the small Swedish city of Sävsjö participated in the study.

Diagnostic validity of the MINI-KID disorder classifications in specialized child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics in Sweden.

Background: Missing diagnostic information often results poor accuracy of the clinical diagnostic decision process. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID) is a short standardized diagnostic interview and covers a rather broad range of diagnoses applicable to children and adolescents. MINI-KID disorder classifications have shown test-retest reliability and validity comparable to other standardized diagnostic interviews and is claimed to be a useful tool for diagnostic screening in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric care.

Social differences in diagnosed depression among adolescents in a Swedish population based cohort.

Background: Population based research regarding social differences in diagnosed depression in adolescence is sparse. In this study unique material containing in-and outpatient data was used to determine if low social position in childhood increases the risk of diagnosed depression in adolescence. To further examine this association, gender differences and interactions were explored.

Socioeconomic position and self-harm among adolescents: a population-based cohort study in Stockholm, Sweden.

Background: Understanding the association between parental socioeconomic position and self-harm in adolescence is crucial due to its substantial magnitude and associated inequality. Most previous studies have been either of cross-sectional nature or based solely on self-reports or hospital treated self-harm. The aim of this study is to determine the association between parental socioeconomic position and self-harm among adolescents with a specific focus on gender and severity of self-harm.

Long-term outcomes and predictors of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders.

Objective: This study investigated the long-term outcomes of internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) for children with anxiety disorders, and potential pre-treatment predictors of treatment outcome.

Method: The sample included eighty-four children (8-12 years old) with anxiety disorders, from both a treatment group and a waitlist control (after participants had crossed over to treatment) of a previous randomized controlled study. Participants were assessed at post-treatment and three- and twelve-months after treatment using a semi-structured interview and parent ratings.

Relative Immaturity in Childhood and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms From Childhood to Early Adulthood: Exploring Genetic and Environmental Overlap Across Development.

Objective: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been linked to immaturity relative to peers in childhood, yet it is unclear how such immaturity is associated with ADHD across development. This longitudinal twin study examined the genetic and environmental contributions to the association between parents' perception of their child's immaturity relative to peers (RI) in childhood and ADHD symptoms across development.

Method: 1,302 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development were followed prospectively from childhood to early adulthood.

Latent Classes of Symptoms related to Clinically Depressed Mood in Adolescents.

Background: The diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD), according to the , is based only on adult symptomatology of depression and not adapted for age and gender. This may contribute to the low diagnostic specificity and validity of adolescent MDD. In this study, we investigated whether latent classes based on symptoms associated with depressed mood could be identified in a sample of adolescents seeking psychiatric care, regardless of traditionally defined diagnostic categories.

Social factors in childhood and risk of depressive symptoms among adolescents--a longitudinal study in Stockholm, Sweden.

Background: In Sweden, self-reported depressive symptoms have increased among young people of both genders, but little is known about social differences in the risk of depressive symptoms among adolescents in welfare states, where such differences can be less pronounced. Therefore, the aim was to investigate whether multiple measures of low social status in childhood affect depressive symptoms in adolescence. A secondary aim was to explore potential gender effect modification.

Screening for depressed mood in an adolescent psychiatric context by brief self-assessment scales--testing psychometric validity of WHO-5 and BDI-6 indices by latent trait analyses.

Background: Major depressive disorder is prevalent in the adolescent psychiatric clinical setting and often comorbid with other primary psychiatric diagnoses such as ADHD or social anxiety disorder. Systematic manual-based diagnostic procedures are recommended to identify such comorbidity but they are time-consuming and often not fully implemented in clinical practice. Screening for depressive symptoms in the child psychiatric context using brief, user-friendly and easily managed self-assessment scales may be of clinical value and utility.

Associations of MAOA-VNTR or 5HTT-LPR alleles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms are moderated by platelet monoamine oxidase B activity.

The monoamine systems have been suggested to play a role in the biological basis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Thus, polymorphisms, for example, in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and the serotonin transporter (5HTT) genes have been associated with ADHD-like phenotypes. Furthermore, platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) activity has frequently been linked to impulsiveness-related traits.

Psychiatric problems associated with subthreshold ADHD and disruptive behaviour diagnoses in teenagers.

Aim: To study the coexistence of subthreshold diagnoses of both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD) with other symptoms of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders as well as risk behaviours associated with smoking, alcohol and drug use.

Methods: A population-based sample of twins including 177 girls and 135 boys was interviewed using the Swedish version of Kiddie-SADS Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Subthreshold diagnoses were compiled based on the ADHD and DBD criteria, where each criterion was assessed as 'possible' or 'certain' according to K-SADS-PL.

Coexisting psychiatric problems and stressful life events in adults with symptoms of ADHD--a large Swedish population-based study of twins.

Objective: To explore the associations of subtypes of adult ADHD with other psychiatric problems, stressful life events, and sex differences.

Method: Odds ratios were calculated using information from 17,899 participants from a population-based survey of adult twins born in Sweden between 1959 and 1985.

Results: Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were associated with an increased risk for symptoms of (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]): generalized anxiety disorder (5.

Low Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a mirror of general anxiety and persistent depressive symptoms in adolescent girls - a cross-sectional study of a clinical and a non-clinical cohort.

Background: The Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale is assumed to measure a distinct salutogenic construct separated from measures of anxiety and depression. Our aim was to challenge this concept.

Methods: The SOC-scale, Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) , the emotional subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-em) and self-assessed health-related and physiological parameters were collected from a sample of non-clinical adolescent females (n = 66, mean age 16.

The differentiation between depressive and anxious adolescent females and controls by behavioural self-rating scales.

Background: This study aimed to validate the ability of frequently used self-assessment scales in Swedish child and adolescent psychiatric practice to differentiate between adolescent girls with manifest anxiety disorders and depression from those with less severe symptoms.

Methods: The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated for Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), the emotional subscale (SDQ-em), the impact score and the total difficulties score of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Sense of Coherence (SOC) in a sample of 73 adolescent, female patients, diagnosed with one or several anxiety disorders and/or depression. ROC was also calculated for 66 age-matched controls.

ADHD and Disruptive Behavior scores - associations with MAO-A and 5-HTT genes and with platelet MAO-B activity in adolescents.

Background: Pharmacological and genetic studies suggest the importance of the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems in the pathogenesis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD). We have, in a population-based sample, studied associations between dimensions of the ADHD/DBD phenotype and Monoamine Oxidase B (MAO-B) activity in platelets and polymorphisms in two serotonergic genes: the Monoamine Oxidase A Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MAO-A VNTR) and the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Transporter gene-Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTT LPR).

Methods: A population-based sample of twins, with an average age of 16 years, was assessed for ADHD/DBD with a clinical interview; Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL).

Sleep patterns in school-age children with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism: a follow-up study.

The course of sleep patterns over 2-3 years was compared between 16 school-age children with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) and 16 age- and gender-matched typically developing children, using 1-week actigraphy at baseline and follow-up. At baseline (mean age 11.1 years), children with AS/HFA had longer sleep latency and lower sleep efficiency during school days, but earlier sleep start and sleep end during weekends.

Birth weight and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms in childhood and early adolescence: a prospective Swedish twin study.

Objective: To determine whether low birth weight increases the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood and early adolescence.

Method: In a population-based sample of 1,480 twin pairs born in the period 1985-1986 ascertained from the Swedish Twin Registry, birth weight was collected prospectively through the Medical Birth Registry. ADHD symptoms were measured with a 14-item checklist covering DSM-III-R criteria (parental rating) at age 8 to 9 years and 13 to 14 years.

Genetic contributions to the development of ADHD subtypes from childhood to adolescence.

Objectives: Little is known about how genes influence the development of symptoms included in the DSM-IV subtypes of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from childhood to adolescence. The aim of this study was to examine genetic influences contributing to the development of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms and inattentive symptoms of ADHD from childhood to adolescence.

Method: The sample included all 1,480 twin pairs born in Sweden between May 1985 and December 1986.

Long-term relationships between symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and self-esteem in a prospective longitudinal study of twins.

Aim: To study the long-term relationship between symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and the developing self-esteem in a population-based sample of twins.

Methods: The cohort is all twin pair families born in Sweden between May 1985 and December 1986 (n = 1.480).