Editorial: Genetic Predisposition to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Increases the Risk of Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties.

Our understanding of the clinical impact and the long-term risks of having attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has improved recently, with large-scale epidemiological studies showing that individuals with ADHD are at increased risk of suicidal behavior, educational underachievement, substance misuse, and car accidents,1 as well as at increased risk of psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder.2 It may be that having ADHD predisposes to educational underachievement and adversity later in life and thus predisposes to the development of other psychiatric disorders. However, in this month's issue of the Journal, Alemany et al.3 report that they found an association between emotional and behavioral difficulties in childhood and the genetic risk for ADHD and that the genetic risk for ADHD was more important in determining emotional and behavioral difficulties than the genetic risk for other disorders including anxiety and depression.