Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental condition (Rube & Kaur, 2012) that has been associated with several adverse health outcomes. Some of them are auto-immune conditions and migraine. However, the mechanisms behind these associations are unclear and it remains to be established if maternal immune-related conditions and migraine during pregnancy could increase risk for ADHD in the offspring.
Studies have suggested that the prevalence of ADHD is significantly higher in children with migraine (Arruda et al., 2010), although they are different kinds of brain disorders(Justyna, 2017). Migraine is twice as prevalent in females, and acetaminophen (paracetamol), a common medication indicated for migraine, is considered generally safe for use during all stages of pregnancy. However, there is evidence indicating that acetaminophen use during the prenatal period may increase the risk of multiple behavioural difficulties in the offspring (Stergiakouli et al., 2016). The mechanisms for the association remain unclear. One hypothesis is that migraine and ADHD may share common genetic variants. Meanwhile, paracetamol could be mediating the association between migraine and ADHD. Distinguishing between these explanations is important because they have different prevention and treatment implications.
Research suggests that ADHD and immune-related conditions might co-occur (Anand et al., 2017). Although associations exist between ADHD and asthma (Leffa et al., 2021), little is known about the potential role of ADHD in later inflammation. We hypothesize that ADHD might be involved in the pathway of development of inflammation or immunological indicators. Further study is warranted to assess the causal association between ADHD and inflammation indicators in different stages in the lifespan.