How prevalent is ADHD in children?

A new study on California health records reveals that the number of children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has increased 24% since 2001. The rates of increase are especially apparent among boys and children from higher-income families. However, many believe the increase in ADHD diagnoses can be attributed to an increasing awareness of ADHD among physicians instead of an actual increase of ADHD in the population.

The researchers used data from the Kaiser Permanente Southern California healthcare system, which tracks ADHD diagnoses in detailed medical records. They reviewed over 842,000 medical records of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. Using this data, they were able to link the trends of ADHD with the child’s age, race/ethnicity, sex, and household income.

They found that the diagnoses of ADHD increased 24% from 6,869 diagnoses in 2001 to 8,006 diagnoses in 2010. There were increases among children who were white, African American, and Hispanic, while rates among Asian/Pacific Islanders remained unchanged over time. African American children had the highest increase in ADHD diagnoses, especially among African American girls. Among all racial/ethnic groups, however, boys are still three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD overall.