Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Is It Common? Is It Overtreated?

ADHD and Health Services Utilization in the National Health Interview Survey

“…In a major epidemiological study of ADHD in Minnesota, Barbaresi et al (2002) found that 85% of children with definite ADHD and 40% of children with probable ADHD had received stimulant medication treatment, compared with 0.1% of children with no ADHD. In an accompanying editorial, Wender (2002) states that these data do not suggest a major problem with overtreatment but do indicate the possibility that undertreatment is a problem. Similarly, in analyses of the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders study, Jensen et al (1999) report that only 12.5% of children meeting full criteria for ADHD had been treated with stimulants during the previous 12 months.…”

Estimated Prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Sample of Panamanian School-Aged Children

“…The prevalence rates in countries to which we can refer for estimates of ADHD in Panama range from 7% in a Venezuelan sample [13] to 17% in a Colombian sample [14]. In developed countries, there is a general concern that ADHD is over-diagnosed and treated in excess with pharmacotherapy [15]. The opposite argument is employed in developing countries, presumably because of a general unawareness of ADHD symptoms by the parents, teachers and health professionals, difficulties in accessing public health services, and concerns surrounding the use of psychostimulants during early development [16].…”

ADHS und KISS-/KIDD-Syndrom

“…Die Be-handlung dieser segmentalen Funktionsstörungen hatte jedoch keinerlei Effekte auf die Ausprägung der Symptomatik des ADHS. Da etwa die Hälfte der untersuchten Kinder Kopfgelenkdysfunktionen aufwies, ist zu vermuten, dass aufgrund der hohen Prävalenz des ADHS (August et al 1996;Rohde et al 1999;Wender 2002) und der wahrscheinlich auch recht hohen Prävalenz manualmedizinischer Funktionsstörungen bei diesen Kindern es sich um reine Koinzidenzen handelt (Buchmann and Häßler 2004). Es ließe sich jedoch diskutieren, dass es aufgrund der "psychischen Erkrankung ADHS" auch zu einer vermehrten generellen Muskelanspannung bei den betroffenen Kindern kommt; ein Effekt, der z.…”