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Dopamine functioning is an essential mechanism underlying addictive behaviors. This paper evaluates the association of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) with the catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) val158met polymorphism and examines the roles of impulsivity and reinforcement sensitivity in this association. Using diagnostic interviews, this study recruited 69 participants with IGD and 138 participants without. All participants underwent diagnostic interviews for IGD and an evaluation for the COMT val158met polymorphism, impulsivity, and reinforcement sensitivity. Among participants with the Val/Val genotype, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for IGD was 2.09 (1.15–3.80). The IGD–Val/Val genotype association was mediated by impulsivity and fun‐seeking. The Val/Val genotype is indicative of low frontal functioning and is a predictive factor of IGD, with this effect being confounded by impulsivity and fun‐seeking. Interventions targeting impulsivity and fun‐seeking might attenuate the risk of IGD, particularly among individuals with the Val/Val genotype. Additional studies are necessary to elucidate the possible role of dopamine functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this population-based cohort study, we compared the risks of incident hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children without ASD., Methods: This study included children who were born in Taiwan at any time between 2004 and 2017. Data were collected from the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database. We included 20,688 children with ASD and 2,062,120 matched controls to estimate the risks of incident hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus. Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed for risk assessment. The models were adjusted for sex, calendar year of birth, and gestational age at birth. Statistical significance was determined by calculating adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)., Results: Children with ASD had higher risks of incident hyperopia (aHR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.70-1.86), myopia (aHR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.24-1.30), astigmatism (aHR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.46-1.56), and strabismus (aHR: 2.18; 95% CI: 2.05-2.32) than did those without it., Conclusion: Clinicians should screen children with ASD for potential ophthalmic conditions. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the associations between ASD and ophthalmic diseases. The roles of types and severities of ASD symptoms in detecting ophthalmic disease also requires further study., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Objectives: The present study analyzed the reciprocal relationships between four common pediatric ophthalmic diseases (i.e., hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children., Methods: This study enrolled 86,028 children with ADHD and 1,798,673 children without ADHD in the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database who were born at any time from 2004 to 2017. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the bidirectional relationships of the four ophthalmic diseases with ADHD in children after adjusting for age, sex, and gestational age at birth. Survival curves for time-to-event variables were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare the curves., Results: The results indicated that ADHD significantly predicted the occurrence of hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus. Furthermore, hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus significantly predicted the occurrence of ADHD. The time between enrollment and ADHD diagnosis was shorter for patients with ophthalmic diseases than for the control group, and the time between enrollment and ophthalmic disease diagnosis was also shorter for ADHD patients than for the control group. Sex differences were found in the associations between ADHD and ophthalmic diseases., Conclusion: Clinicians should monitor children with ADHD for hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism, and strabismus to ensure appropriate treatment, and vice versa., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.