Bad behaviour of children 'due to genes'

Updated on: Friday, October 01, 2010

It's not junk food or bad parents, children's bad behaviour is down to their genes, says a new study, led by an Indian-origin researcher.

Prof Anita Thapar and colleagues at Cardiff University have carried out the study and found that the condition called Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is due to the complex genetic faults, 'The Lancet' journal reported.

The study shows that around 16 per cent of children with ADHD have a glitch in their DNA, which means they have the wrong number of genes.

The researchers believe that tests will eventually show that DNA glitches may account for up to 80 per cent of all cases. But, they warn that bad diet and poor upbringing might still make the condition worse.

The study suggests genetic problems linked to ADHD are also linked to other brain disorders, including schizophrenia and autism.

For the study, the researchers looked at the DNA of 366 children with the condition and 1047 without it. And, they found parts of DNA were either duplicated or missing in around 16 percent with ADHD but in only seven per cent of population.

Prof Thapar was quoted by the British media as saying, "Now we can say with confidence that brains of children with this condition develop differently. We hope that the findings will help overcome the stigma associated with ADHD.

"Too often, people dismiss ADHD as being down to bad parenting or poor diet. As a clinician, it was clear to me that this was unlikely to be the case. Now we can say with confidence that ADHD is a genetic disease and that the brains of children with this condition develop differently to those of other children."

Bad behaviour of children 'due to genes'

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