Investigating the Association Between Heavy Metals and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: An Exploratory Study.

This article explores potential associations between exposure to 15 heavy and essential metals in urine and the diagnosis and symptom severity of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 15 years from Barcelona and Tarragona, Spain. The study found that higher urinary levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and antimony (Sb) were significantly associated with increased odds of ADHD diagnosis, with Cu and Sb linked to greater hyperactivity-impulsivity severity and Cu, Cd, and Pb associated with inattention severity. Conversely, vanadium (V) showed a negative association with ADHD. These findings, adjusted for sex, age, socioeconomic status, body mass index, and diet quality, suggest complex interactions between environmental metal exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes, highlighting the need for further longitudinal research to clarify causality and underlying mechanisms.