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Aim: To investigate the prevalence of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a population‐based birth cohort and correlate the findings with prenatal and perinatal factors. We hypothesized that children born preterm, having experienced preeclampsia or maternal overweight, would have an increased risk of ADHD or ASD. Method: A Swedish cohort of 2666 children (1350 males, 1316 females) has been followed from birth with parental and perinatal data. The National Board of Health and Welfare's registries were used to collect data regarding perinatal status and assigned diagnoses at the age of 12 years. Results: The prevalence of ADHD and ASD was 7.6% and 1.1% respectively. Maternal obesity early in pregnancy resulted in a three‐fold increased risk of ADHD in the child. Similarly, paternal obesity resulted in a two‐fold increased risk. The association was significant also when adjusted for sex, preterm birth, smoking, and lower educational level. The prevalence of ASD was too low for statistically relevant risk factor analyses. Interpretation: Our results corroborate earlier findings regarding prevalence and sex ratio for both ADHD and ASD. Maternal body mass index and preterm birth were correlated with an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 12 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of eating disorders in young and adolescent males is sparse. To investigate clinical presentations in males and females with anorexia nervosa (AN). Using a retrospective case-control design, data were collected from case records for 41 males diagnosed with AN. Data for a comparison group of 41 females with AN were collected, matched to the males by age and date at admission. The collected data covered demographic, medical, psychiatric, and treatment information. No differences were found between the sexes in the percentage of expected weight (%EBW) at admission or discharge, or in psychiatric comorbidity. Treatment duration was equal for both sexes, but males received fewer treatment sessions than did females. These results indicate that the clinical presentations of young males and females with AN were very similar in terms of clinical characteristics. What is already known about this subject? Research on AN in male children and adolescents is sparse. Previous studies comparing male and female patients with EDs have found both differences and similarities between sexes. What does this study add? This study found few differences in terms of clinical presentation of AN between the sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Treatment of childhood obesity is often insufficient and may be aggravated by high co‐occurrence of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We aimed to investigate whether children with overweight or obesity normalised in weight when receiving stimulant treatment for ADHD. Methods: Growth data of 118 children were obtained from medical records at outpatient paediatric and children's psychiatric services in the Gothenburg area, Sweden. The children were diagnosed with ADHD and were between 6 and 17 years at the start of stimulant treatment. The pre‐treatment data act as an internal control where every child is their own control. Results: At the start of treatment, 74 children had normal weight and 44 had either overweight or obesity. During the year with stimulants, the mean (SD) body mass index (BMI) in standard deviation score (SDS) decreased significantly: −0.72 (0.66) compared with 0.17 (0.43) during the year before treatment (p < 0.01). After one year with treatment, 43% of those with overweight or obesity had reached normal weight. Conclusions: Stimulant treatment for ADHD yields significant weight loss. In children with overweight or obesity and ADHD, this is an important finding showing additional benefit in terms of weight management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]