研究:八月份出生的孩子更易患多动症

One's birthdate has already been linked to such things as temperament. Now researchers in Taiwan report in the Journal of Pediatrics that we can add ADHD to the list.

事实上，一个人的出生日期与其性格品性等方面都存在一定的联系。最近，台湾研究人员在《中华儿科杂志》发表的一篇研究报告指出，出生日期与患得多动症之间也具有一定联系。

When looking at 378,881 children ages 4 to 17 at some point between 1997 to 2011, they found that preschool and elementary school-age children born in August were 1.65 times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and 1.73 times more likely to be put on medication than kids born in September—who, because of school cutoff dates similar to those in the US, tend to be nearly a year older than their August counterparts.

研究人员观察了378881位出生年份在1997年至2011年间的孩子，他们的年龄分别在4至17岁之间不等。在观察后他们发现，那些出生在8月的学前班儿童和小学生患得ADHD（多动症）的概率比那些9月份出生的孩子要高1.65倍，今后接受药物治疗的可能性也要比那些9月份出生的孩子高出1.73倍。由于中国学校入学的截止日期与美国基本相同，因此学校内那些9月份出生的孩子普遍比那些在8月份出生的孩子年长一岁。

The discrepancy did not exist in older kids, which researchers write may imply that "increasing age and maturity lessens the impact of birth month on ADHD diagnoses."

这种差异并没有在年龄较大的孩子身上体现出来，研究人员表示：“随着年龄逐渐增长，心智也愈发成熟，这些因素都从一定程度上削弱了出生月份与患得多动症之间的关联。”

The findings add to previous work on ADHD in the US and Canada finding that a child's age within a grade plays a role in ADHD diagnosis, lead author Dr.Mu-Hong Chen tells Live Science. He calls it reduced neurocognitive maturity, something that is particularly pronounced when comparing the youngest and oldest kids within a grade.

首席作者陈木宏告诉《生活科学》杂志：这些发现进一步为之前美国和加拿大在多动症方面的研究提供了证据支持，即孩子在同一年级的前提下，年龄大小是判断患有多动症风险大小的关键因素。他称其为“神经认知成熟度下降”的表现，该名词在将同年级年龄最大和年龄最小的孩子进行对比时经常被用到。

Globally, the number of kids diagnosed with ADHD has risen dramatically, researchers note in a press release, saying, "Our findings emphasize the importance of considering the age of a child within a grade when diagnosing ADHD and prescribing medication to treat ADHD."

研究人员在资讯稿中提到，目前全球患有多动症孩子的数量正在不断增长。他们表示，“我们的调查将着重研究同年级之间孩子的年龄大小问题，因为这个因素在诊断病症和为治疗多动症进行药物治疗的时候显得尤为重要。”

More than one in 10 kids in the US have been diagnosed with ADHD.

美国目前十个孩子中就有一个孩子被诊断患有多动症。