Is Paternal Smoking at Conception a Risk for ADHD? A Controlled Study in Youth With and Without ADHD.

OBJECTIVE Based on emerging preclinical findings suggesting that paternal smoking at conception may be a risk for ADHD in the offspring, we investigated whether a similar effect can be observed in humans. METHOD We analyzed data from an opportunistic dataset of girl probands with ( N = 140) and without ( N = 122) ADHD with available information on paternal smoking at conception. Data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. RESULTS ADHD probands had a significantly higher rate of paternal smoking at conception than controls (35% vs. 23%, χ2 = 3.82, p = .05) with a significant odds ratio of 1.5. However, the association lost significance after controlling for paternal ADHD, most likely due to limited statistical power. CONCLUSION While preliminary, findings suggest that paternal smoking at conception may be a risk factor for ADHD in the offspring.