Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and fluctuating asymmetry in another college sample

• Published in: American journal of human biology 2006-05, Vol.18 (3), p.402-414
• Main Authors: Stevenson, J.C., Everson, P.M., Williams, D.C., Hipskind, G., Mahoney, E.R., Mehler, M., Cawley, M., Chamberlin, W., Watts, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - epidemiology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - physiopathology; Dermatoglyphics; Face - physiopathology; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Students - statistics & numerical data; United States - epidemiology; Universities
• ISSN: 1042-0533; 1520-6300
• DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20507

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) represents a developmental lag that may be reflected in fluctuating asymmetry (FA), i.e., differences from perfect symmetry in traits that display bilateral symmetry. Burton et al. (2003 Am. J. Hum. Biol. 15:601–619) found a statistical trend for FA to increase (as dermatoglyphic index or as total index) as the behavioral measure for AD/HDness (Rasch logit values derived from the Wender Utah Rating Scale, or WURS) increased in males but not in females. The objective here was to do a similar study in an independently collected sample of college students (n = 222; 61 male, 161 female) not selected for AD/HD, looking at FA vs. symptoms for AD/HD based on Rasch versions of responses to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) (Barkley and Murphy 1998 Attention‐Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, New York: Guilford Press, p. 95–96) and the more comparable shortened WURS. FAs were lowest for body and ear height, and highest for eye width and nose width, and ranged from 0.01 ± 0.001 (mean ± SE) for foot and ankle widths to 0.13 ± 0.01 in eye and nose widths for both sexes; the sexes did not differ significantly. Males displayed higher AD/HD symptom rates overall. There was a significant correlation between body FA and the WURS measure in females after Bonferroni correction (P = 0.002, r2 = 0.058). Thus, AD/HD symptoms levels increased with an increase in body FA in female college students not selected for AD/HD. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18:402–414, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.