Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31665071›Full record

ArticleBiology of sex differences2019

Neurochemical sex differences in adult ADHD patients: an MRS study.

Dominique Endres, Ludger Tebartz van Elst, Simon J Maier, Bernd Feige, Peter Goll, Simon A Meyer, Swantje Matthies, Katharina Domschke, Thomas Lange, Esther Sobanski and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology of sex differences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Practical tools for female-specific ADHD: The impact of hormonal fluctuations in clinical practice and from the literature.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2023
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Dominique EndresSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. dominique.endres@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
Ludger Tebartz van ElstSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Simon J MaierSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Bernd FeigeSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Peter GollSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Simon A MeyerSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Swantje MatthiesDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Katharina DomschkeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Thomas LangeDepartment of Radiology, Medical Physics, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Esther SobanskiDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Clinical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Alexandra PhilipsenDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Kathrin NickelSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Evgeniy PerlovSection for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
University of Freiburg · DEUniversity Medical Center Freiburg · DECentral Institute of Mental Health · DEUniversity of Bonn · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder. Relevant sex differences in symptomatology are discussed. This study compared brain neurometabolism in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left cerebellar hemisphere in age- and IQ-matched adult male (mADHD) and female (fADHD) ADHD patients.

methodsWe studied 48 (ACC) and 42 (cerebellum) male/female pairs of stimulant-free patients with adult ADHD. Single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to investigate creatine (Cre), total choline (t-Cho), glutamate + glutamine (Glx), N-acetylaspartate, and myo-inositol. The mADHD and fADHD groups were compared using robust linear regression. The level of significance was corrected for multiple tests using the Benjamini-Hochberg approach.

resultsFor the ACC, the signals of Cre (p = 0.008) and t-Cho (p = 0.004) showed significant effects of the age covariate as well as an interaction of sex and age (Cre: p = 0.033; t-Cho: p = 0.040). For the Glx signal, an interaction of sex and age could also be observed (p = 0.033). For cerebellar neurometabolites, the signals of t-Cho (p = 0.049) and Glx (p = 0.049) showed significant effects of the factor sex.

conclusionThis is the largest study yet to analyze sex differences in brain neurochemistry in adult patients with ADHD. Different age-dependent t-Cho signals in the ACC might be associated with delayed myelinization in mADHD. Further MRS studies in adult ADHD, accounting for possible sex effects, are warranted to validate the present findings.

Indexed as

Sex CharacteristicsAdultAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityCerebellumFemaleGyrus CinguliHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyMaleYoung AdultADHDAnterior cingulate cortexCerebellumCholineMRSSex

Identifiers

PMID31665071
PMCPMC6821019
OpenAlexW2982301048

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.