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New evidence for ADHD genes
Jun 24, 2009
in Genetic basis, News on ADD
It is well known that ADD/ADHD runs in families (in some opinions ADD is the 2nd most inherited trait, next to height). Consider these findings:
- If one sibling of a pair of identical twins (who share identical genes) has ADD, the other has 81% chance of having it. This number drops to only 29% for non-identical, or fraternal, twins.
- If one parent has ADD, the child has 60% chance of having it as well. If both parents have ADD, the probability goes up to 85-90%.
- Parents of ADD kids are 24 times as likely to have ADD themselves.
My life is a story of two contrasting worlds. To the others I am a scientist working in a top US university. But my private world is shaped by a lifelong struggle with ADD that I was born with, but did not know about until I was past 40. Here I present a unique perspective on adult ADD/ ADHD, drawing from the lessons of my own life and an extensive research on the subject.