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Background Current psychiatric diagnoses, although heritable, have not been clearly mapped onto distinct underlying pathogenic processes. The same symptoms often occur in multiple disorders, and a substantial proportion of both genetic and environmental risk factors are shared across disorders. However, the relationship between shared symptoms and shared genetic liability is still poorly understood. Aims Well-characterised, cross-disorder samples are needed to investigate this matter, but few currently exist. Our aim is to develop procedures to purposely curate and aggregate genotypic and phenotypic data in psychiatric research. Method As part of the Cardiff MRC Mental Health Data Pathfinder initiative, we have curated and harmonised phenotypic and genetic information from 15 studies to create a new data repository, DRAGON-Data. To date, DRAGON-Data includes over 45 000 individuals: adults and children with neurodevelopmental or psychiatric diagnoses, affected probands within collected families and individuals who carry a known neurodevelopmental risk copy number variant. Results We have processed the available phenotype information to derive core variables that can be reliably analysed across groups. In addition, all data-sets with genotype information have undergone rigorous quality control, imputation, copy number variant calling and polygenic score generation. Conclusions DRAGON-Data combines genetic and non-genetic information, and is available as a resource for research across traditional psychiatric diagnostic categories. Algorithms and pipelines used for data harmonisation are currently publicly available for the scientific community, and an appropriate data-sharing protocol will be developed as part of ongoing projects (DATAMIND) in partnership with Health Data Research UK.

BackgroundThere is recent evidence of some degree of shared genetic susceptibility between adult schizophrenia and childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for rare chromosomal variants.AimsTo determine whether there is overlap between common alleles conferring risk of schizophrenia in adults with those that do so for ADHD in children.MethodWe used recently published Psychiatric Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) Consortium (PGC) adult schizophrenia data to define alleles over-represented in people with schizophrenia and tested whether those alleles were more common in 727 children with ADHD than in 2067 controls.ResultsSchizophrenia risk alleles discriminated ADHD cases from controls (P = 1.04 × 104, R2 = 0.45%); stronger discrimination was given by alleles that were risk alleles for both adult schizophrenia and adult bipolar disorder (also derived from a PGC data-set) (P = 9.98 ×10−6, R2 × 0.59%).ConclusionsThis increasing evidence for a small, but significant, shared genetic susceptibility between adult schizophrenia and childhood ADHD highlights the importance of research work across traditional diagnostic boundaries.

BackgroundSome research suggests that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher than expected risk of bipolar affective disorder. No study has examined the prevalence of bipolar disorder in a UK sample of children with ADHD.AimsTo examine the prevalence of bipolar disorder in children diagnosed with ADHD or hyperkinetic disorder.MethodPsychopathology symptoms and diagnoses of bipolar disorder were assessed in 200 young people with ADHD (170 male, 30 female; age 6–18 years, mean 11.15, s.d. = 2.95). Rates of current bipolar disorder symptoms and diagnoses are reported. A family history of bipolar disorder in parents and siblings was also recorded.ResultsOnly one child, a 9-year-old boy, met diagnostic criteria for both ICD–10 hypomania and DSM–IV bipolar disorder not otherwise specified.ConclusionsIn a UK sample of children with ADHD a current diagnosis of bipolar disorder was uncommon.

BackgroundChildren with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are thought to be at higher risk of psychopathy. Early biological and social adversity may contribute to this risk.AimsTo examine psychopathy traits in ADHD.MethodIn a sample of children with ADHD who had reached adolescence, total psychopathy and ‘emotional-dysfunction’ scores (e.g. callousness, lack of affect) were assessed using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Youth Version.ResultsA total of 156 (79%) eligible families participated. Total psychopathy and emotional-dysfunction scores were elevated in comparison to published UK norms but none scored in the clinical range for psychopathy. Adjusting for associated conduct problems, total psychopathy scores were associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, emotional-dysfunction scores were associated with birth complications, and neither was associated with family adversity.ConclusionsChildren with ADHD show psychopathy traits but are not ‘psychopaths’. Early adversity, indexed by pre- or perinatal adversity but not family factors, appears to be associated.

Aims and MethodThis study aimed to assess how referrers to specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) wanted priorities to be determined. Postal questionnaires were sent to practitioners referring to the service in the Bridgend district.ResultsNearly three-quarters of the questionnaires were returned (n=184). There was wide variation between professional groups in the priority attributed to different presenting problems, their modification by ‘contextual factors' and acceptable waiting times for the service. Mental disorder, self-harm, child abuse and complex cases require greatest priority.Clinical ImplicationsNeeds of referrers must be considered when deciding priorities for specialist CAMHS, however diverse these appear. If youth mental health needs are to be addressed, better communication between services, and clearer definition of the role of specialist CAMHS is imperative.