ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is commonly diagnosed in children. However, despite the growing number of cases, the causes of ADHD, or even the main one, are still not accurately known.
There are speculations as to what causes this disorder. But recent studies actually have strong implications that genetics is one of the factors to blame, alongside neurobiology. The environmental aspect does not really cause ADHD at all. Rather, this just influences the situation at hand, thereby influencing the level of impairment of the child as well. These results also indicate possible causes for the disorder itself.
Environmental Agents
Cigarettes and alcohol have always been known to have detrimental effects on unborn children. These are indeed serious risk factors that any expecting mother should keep an eye on. Thus, it is very important for expecting mothers to stay away from cigarettes and alcohol. These mothers should not only drop these harmful habits, but they should also steer clear from them, especially cigarette smoke. Secondhand smoke is far more dangerous than firsthand smoke for developing babies, so it’s clearly better to stay away from smokers during pregnancy.
Brain Injury
During a child’s developmental months, if he or she sustained any brain injury, then the child is prone to have ADHD when he or she grows older. There is not much biological evidence to support this claim at this point in time. However, there have been so many cases wherein a child suffering from ADHD actually suffered brain injury at an earlier point in his or her life. A large number of such cases have definitely been documented, so we can no longer discount brain injury from being one of the possible causes of the disorder.
Sugar and Food Additives
You surely must have heard of the phrase sugar-high. This is because the presence of too much sugar in the body can actually make any person hyperactive. Food additives also have a similar effect. Cutting back on food items that are high on sugar and food additives can alleviate the symptoms of ADHD. However, there is no significant relationship between sugar and additives and the child’s intellectual and behavioral skills.
Genetics
Neurologically speaking, children suffering from ADHD actually have weak areas in their brains. This is particularly in the areas that produce neurotransmitters. Recent studies indicate that a large bulk of children suffering from ADHD actually have relatives who suffered from the disorder as well. Thus, the genetic makeup of a person just might be one of the strong causes of ADHD all along.