They found children with the condition, thought to affect one in 50, are more likely to carry particularly faulty sections of genetic code than those without it.
Anita Thapar, professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, said: "This is really exciting because it gives us the first genetic link to ADHD.
"We hope that these findings will help overcome the stigma associated with ADHD. Too often, people dismiss ADHD as being down to bad parenting or poor diet.
"Now we can say with confidence that ADHD is a genetic disease and that the brains of children with this condition develop differently to those of other children."
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