Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Household environment, diet, and inattention/hyperactivity tendencies have been shown to influence children's physical and cognitive development. However, these factors are often studied independently. Therefore, there is little knowledge on the interrelationships between household environment, diet, and children's ADHD tendencies. This study aimed to investigate relationships between ADHD tendencies, household chaos, and diet quality among 4 and 5-year olds. METHODS: Four and five-year-old children (n = 55, 22 females) were recruited from the East-Central Illinois area. Participants’ parents completed two surveys and a seven-day food record. The ADHD Rating Scale-IV Home Version questionnaire and the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) questionnaire were used to assess inattention/hyperactivity tendencies and household chaos, respectively. Diet records were analyzed using the Nutrition Data Systems for Research (NDSR) 2015 to estimate Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores (HEI-2015). All measures were self-reported by the child's caregiver. RESULTS: Using Spearman's bivariate correlations, total HEI score was negatively and significantly related to hyperactivity tendencies (r = –.24, P = .04) and total raw scores (r = –.24, P = .04). CHAOS was positively and significantly related to inattention tendencies (r = .24, P = .04), hyperactivity tendencies (r = .31, P = .01), and total raw scores (r = .31, P = .01). CHAOS indicated no significant relationship with total HEI score. Using partial correlations while controlling for age, sex, income, and gender, household chaos was positively and significantly related to hyperactivity tendencies (r = .28, P = .03) and total raw scores (r = .28 P = .03). Additionally, total HEI score was no longer significantly related to inattention or hyperactivity tendencies. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that children's tendencies of hyperactivity and inattention are associated with commotion in the household environment. Additional research is necessary to determine the potential of dietary factors in this relationship. FUNDING SOURCES: This work was supported by the National Dairy Council and the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health.