Hyperactive behavior and minor physical anomalies

ABSTRACT– Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are congenital abnormalities of body structure which reflect fetal maldevelopment. They originate in the same embryonic layer that produces the central nervous system, and it is reasoned that MPAs are markers of nervous system anomalies. High MPA counts have been associated with hyperactive behavior in normal and clinical populations of boys, and with inhibited behavior in normal groups of girls. The present sample of children from a longitudinal study of a Danish birth cohort show no significant sex differences in mean number of MPAs, but the male hyperactivity‐MPA relation and the female inhibition‐MPA relation is supported in this non‐clinical sample. MPAs are not recommended for use in clinical screening or diagnosis at this time, but the evidence of a congenital, biological component to hyperactive behavior may eventually have useful implications for prevention and/or intervention.

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