Differentiating Major Depressive Disorder in Youths with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

• Activity Number: 515
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Thursday, August 10, 2006 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Biopharmaceutical Section
• Author(s): Adriana Lopez*+ and Satish Iyengar and Rasim Diler and William Daviss
• Companies: University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh
• Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ; discriminant analysis ; model selection ; comorbility ; depression

Abstract

Accurate diagnosis of depression in children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very important for early intervention. In this paper, we examine which depressive symptoms best discriminate Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) based on a large clinical sample of youth with ADHD who completed the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. Best predictors of MDD in ADHD youth were found by means of stepwise linear discriminant analysis, stepwise logistic regression and classification trees. Based on crossvalidated misclassification rates and expert opinion the stepwise logistic regression gave the best predictors. Our findings suggest the particular importance of anhedonia, social withdrawal, psychomotor retardation, negative views of self and future, and suicidal thoughts as symptoms that distinguish MDD in youths who have ADHD.