Prevalence and Correlates of ADHD Symptoms in the National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

ADHD symptoms vary by race and ethnicity, gender, and age and are associated with other emotional and behavioral difficulties. Both overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of ADHD may be issues in the U.S. population of 4- to 17-year-olds.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Other Mental Health Problems, Substance Use, and Driving: Examination of a Population-Based, Representative Canadian Sample

“…Thus it is unknown whether those with ADHD were more or less likely to participate in the survey, although the age trends and relationships found in Table 1 between ADHD symptoms and more comorbidities and other difficulties, are consistent with many other studies (e.g. Able et al2007;Brassett-Harknett and Butler 2007;Cuffe et al 2005;Faraone et al 2005) and serve to validate the ADHD self-report construct in a community sample.…”

“…Historically, ADHD was viewed as a diagnosis for children and adolescents as it was believed to diminish before adulthood (Goodman 2007). However, followup studies during the last 30 years have added ADHD to the range of adult psychiatric conditions, although evidence suggests that the number and severity of symptoms decline with age (Cuffe et al 2005;Faraone et al 2005). Diagnosis of ADHD is further complicated by the higher presence of comorbidities, such as mood, anxiety, conduct (CD), oppositional defiant (ODD), anti-social personality and substance use disorders in persons with diagnosed ADHD when compared to normal controls (Asherson et al 2007; Kessler et al 2006;Secnik et al 2005;Weiss et al 1985;Young et al 2003).…”

“…ADHD samples are generally drawn from various treatment facilities. However, only a small proportion of those with ADHD symptoms are diagnosed and/or seek treatment through clinics and hospital units (Cuffe et al 2005). For example, prevalence differences for ADHD in boys and girls vary by sampling methods, with clinically-referred studies having gender differences close to 9:1, while epidemiological studies have gender differences closer to 3:1 (Gerson 2002).…”

Sex and Age Differences in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Diagnoses: Implications for DSM-V and ICD-11

“…This result is consistent with multiple epidemiological studies. 3,7,29 The inattentive subtype emerged as the most prevalent subtype in our study as compared to combined subtype in some clinicbased studies. This implies that females and the inattentive subtype are under-diagnosed and/or under-treated in the community.…”

“…[4][5][6] This variability may be due to methodological issues, such as differences in diagnostic criteria, sample ascertainment, developmental stages, tools of assessment, and rater bias. Some recent population-based studies that do not use DSM-IV criteria have reported prevalence of ADHD either close to DSM-IV estimates 7 or much higher. 8 In a recent review, Rowland and colleagues conclude that lack of large population-based epidemiologic studies limits the understanding of this disorder and that further studies are needed to ascertain the true prevalence of ADHD in the community.…”