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Childhood ADHD cases on the rise in US
by Neha Gupta - November 12, 2010 - comments
The cases of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis in kids aged 4 to 17 years has risen from 7.8 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007.
A steep rise has been reported in the cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children during the past decade, researchers from the agency's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and from the National Center for Health Statistics revealed.
Kids in the nation are being diagnosed with the disorder at some point in their lives at an alarming rate.
Sweeping rise in ADHD cases
The cases of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis in kids aged 4 to 17 years has risen from 7.8 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007.
The figures come from the National Survey of Children's Health which was a telephonic survey conducted in the years 2003 and 2007.
As a part of the survey, parents were asked if their child had been ever suffering from ADHD.
Also, concise details on ADHD for 73,123 children were analyzed by the researchers.
ADHD was found to be significantly higher in the year 2007, with a 42 percent rise in teens aged 15 to 17 years, a 46 percent rise in multiracial kids,a 53 percent raise in Hispanic children and a swooping 82 percent raise in children with a primary language other than English.
The ADHD raise was purely based on parental report which required the parents to recall a past ADHD diagnosis in their kid and then deliver a judgment about the disorder's severity.
Parent reported ADHD cases rose significantly, ranging from 31.7 percent to 67.1 percent in almost 12 states, the study claims.
"Increasing rates of estimated ADHD prevalence might indicate an actual increase in the number of cases of ADHD or changes in diagnostic practice over time, which might have been influenced by increased awareness of the disorder over the period of study,"
"Changes in the sociodemographic composition of states or state-based policy or practice changes, such as widespread behavioral health screening, might have contributed to the increasing rates," according to the MMWR editors.
The study limitations
Though the study findings are extremely shocking, the study results have a few limitations.
The ADHD raise was purely based on parental report which required the parents to recall a past ADHD diagnosis in their kid and then deliver a judgment about the disorder's severity.
Current ADHD cases were not added to the database until 2007, making it impossible to compare current ADHD prevalence.
Finally, the survey ruled out the families without a landline and those who did not wish to participate.