NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) appear to be much more likely to take up the smoking habit, study findings suggest.

ADHD is characterized by impulsive behavior, difficulty paying attention, and academic and behavioral problems. Up to 5% of school-age children are estimated to have ADHD, with boys diagnosed up to four times more often than girls.

While ADHD has been associated with smoking among children who have been referred to doctors, information on such a link among adolescents in general populations has been lacking, according to lead author Dr. Kenneth P. Tercyak of the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and colleagues.

To investigate, Tercyak's team interviewed 1,066 tenth graders from five different US high schools. The students answered questions about symptoms of ADHD as well as smoking habits.

The teens who reported that they had ever smoked were more than three times more likely to have "clinically significant ADHD inattention symptoms" and current smokers were almost three times more likely to have similar symptoms, the authors report in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The investigators note that "stimulation derived from nicotine may help some smokers with ADHD to compensate for their low levels of attention, arousal and concentration."

Tercyak and colleagues conclude that "the findings from this study have implications for both prevention and treatment of adolescent cigarette smoking."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2002;41:799-805.

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