Association between reported ADHD symptom and motor development delay in preschool children

Zhijun Cui; Shijie Li; Aimin Liang; Hongmei Huang; Xin Ni

doi:10.3389/fped.2024.1480488

Association between reported ADHD symptom and motor development delay in preschool children

Front Pediatr. 2024 Nov 22:12:1480488. doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1480488. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Zhijun Cui¹, Shijie Li¹, Aimin Liang¹, Hongmei Huang¹, Xin Ni²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child Health Care Center, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Otolaryngology Head and Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Objective: To explore whether the motor developmental level is associated with the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms severity reported by parents in preschool children.

Methods: Preschool children aged 4-6 years old with the chief complaint of reported inattention or hyperactivity by kindergarten teachers or parents were recruited in this study. All participants were consulted by at least one experienced developmental behavior pediatrician, according to DSM-V diagnostic criteria of ADHD. Their neuromotor developments were assessed by the Children's Neuropsychological and Behavior Scale and recorded as developmental quotient (DQ) score in gross motor, fine motor, and other domains. Regarding the evaluation of ADHD symptoms, parents of the 4-year-old group completed the Conners' Parent Symptom Questionnaire, while parents of the 5-year-old group completed The Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale.

Results: A total of 137 preschool children aged 4-4.9 years (4-year-old group) and 252 were aged 5.0-5.9 years (5-year-old group) were included in the study. Children exhibiting ADHD symptoms were at a much higher risk of fine motor delays compared to gross motor delays, particularly among the younger age group. Correlation analysis and hierarchical regression showed that in the 4-year-old ADHD group, better gross motor development was associated with increased severity of parent-reported ADHD symptoms. In the 5-year-old ADHD group, poorer fine motor development was linked to higher ADHD symptom severity. For children who do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria, no significant correlations were found between gross or fine motor developmental quotients (DQ) and the severity of ADHD symptoms.

Conclusions: Preschool children exhibiting ADHD symptoms are at a notable high risk of fine motor delays. Motor development in preschool children who meet ADHD diagnostic criteria is related to the severity of their symptoms. It is important to monitor both fine and gross motor development in preschool children with ADHD.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); developmental quotient; fine motor; gross motor; preschool children.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work is supported by STI 2030—Major Projects 2021ZD0200508, National Natural Science Foundation of China.