Childhood ADHD Diagnoses Increased 25 Percent From 2001 to 2011
The rates of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis have increased by nearly 25% over the past decade, researchers found.
From 2001 to 2010, the rate of ADHD diagnosis increased from 2.5% to 3.1%, according to Darios Getahun, MD, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Southern California Medical Group in Pasadena, and colleagues.
Increases were significant among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, but did not change significantly among Asians, Pacific Islanders, and other racial groups over the 10-year period, Getahun and colleagues reported online in JAMA Pediatrics.
They noted that, over the previous decade, the prevalence of ADHD reached epidemic proportions in the U.S.
“It is one of the most common chronic childhood psychiatric disorders, affecting 4% to 12% of all school-age children and persisting into adolescence and adulthood in approximately 66% to 85% of children,” they wrote. “This large cohort study with children from diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds provides assurance on the generalizability of our findings.”
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