Study links ADHD to smoking moms

New research links exposure to tobacco smoke before birth and lead during childhood to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center reports that eliminating exposure to both could reduce ADHD cases in children ages 8 to 15 by about 35 percent.
Tanya Froehlich, of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, said that could mean 800,000 children nationwide.
"Lead is definitely linked to learning disabilities," said Jennifer Frazier, a lead risk assessor at the Mansfield/Ontario/Richland County Health Department. "We do an intense questionnaire with moms who say their children are hyper or have trouble focusing, and we do home visits to see if there is lead exposure."Frazier said she checks for deteriorated paint on the property.
She said a child could acquire ADHD within a month of exposure in extreme circumstances.
"There is no cure of ADHD, but limiting a child's exposure to lead will definitely help," Frazier said. "Eventually the lead will come out of the body with proper nutrition, but once a child has been exposed, they are pretty much damaged as far as learning is concerned."The child may see the effects of this throughout their education."
Frazier said any house built before 1978 should be inspected. "You need to wet-clean as often as possible and wash kids' hands frequently," she said. "A good balanced diet is also important."
Using data from 3,907 children, researchers looked at prenatal tobacco exposure measured by maternal reports of cigarette use during pregnancy. About 8.7 percent of children in the study met diagnostic criteria for ADHD.
Researchers found that children exposed to tobacco smoke before birth were 2.4 times more likely to have ADHD than children who weren't.
Mansfield child psychologist Dennis Marikis said he has seen a significant increase in the number of children struggling with ADHD in the last five years.
Marikis estimated he worked with 30 percent more children with ADHD this year than last, and said the number has nearly doubled since 2004.
"Some of it is identification and people being better able to recognize the signs," Marikis said. "Our primary focus is first to identify an ADHD child and then work in brain retraining."
Although he believes most children acquire ADHD genetically, Marikis said he believes there are links between the disorder and smoking and lead.
"It's very clear with smoking," he said. "Kids are very vulnerable to cigarette smoke."
The Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this report.