Correlation Between Hospitalization for Pharmaceutical Ingestion and Attention Deficit Disorder in Children Aged 5 to 9 Years Old

Abstract

To determine if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a risk factor for pharmaceutical ingestions leading to hospital admission in children between ages 5 and 9, a retrospective, case-controlled chart review was conducted at a children's hospital. Cases were children aged 5 to 9 admitted for oral ingestion of pharmaceuticals. Controls were children admitted during the same time period with abdominal pain, appendicitis, or gastroenteritis. Controls were matched to cases 3:1 by age and gender. An odds ratio was calculated to determine if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a statistically significant risk factor for hospitalization after pharmaceutical ingestion. A total of 36% of 31 identified cases had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder compared with 7% of controls. The odds ratio for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children hospitalized after pharmaceutical ingestion was 7.97 (95% confidence interval, 2.35-28.01; P < .01). Children hospitalized for pharmaceutical ingestion are nearly 8 times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than children hospitalized for an unrelated disorder.