Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among Children Aged 6 to 17 Years Old Living in Girja District, Rural Ethiopia

Abstract

Objective. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral disorders in childhood with long-term outcomes. Although ADHD is the most studied behavioral disorders of childhood in developed countries, few studies have been conducted in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ADHD in rural parts of Ethiopia. Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2015 among children aged 6 to 17 years living in rural areas. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select 1302 participants. The Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale was used to collect the data. Logistic regression analysis was used to see statistically significant variables. Result. The prevalence rate of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children was 7.3%. Being male (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.81, 95% CI: (1.13, 2.91)); living with a single parent (AOR = 5.0, 95% CI: (2.35, 10.65)); child birth order/rank (AOR = 2.35, 95% CI: (1.30, 4.25)); and low family socioeconomic status (AOR = 2.43, 95% CI: (1.29, 4.59)) were significantly associated with ADHD. Conclusion. The ADHD prevalence rate was found to be similar with global reports. Prevention and early management of maternal complications is important to reduce the prevalence of ADHD among children.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Associated Factors Among Children Attending Pediatric Outpatient Departments of West Shewa Zone Public Hospitals, Central Ethiopia

“…For the fact that prevalence of ADHD decreases as age increases. 20,21 The prevalence of this study is low when compared with that of the study done in Jimma Zone, by RajalakshmiMurugan et al, 2016, which was 13.7%. This difference may be due to the difference in age categorization.…”

“…This is in agreement with the finding of other studies done in Ethiopia and other parts of the world. 20,37 However, maternal use of psychoactive substance was associated with ADHD in other studies. 43 This discrepancy may be due to sociodemographic variation of the study subjects as evidenced by only 33 (8%) of the mothers of the study subject had ever used alcohol during pregnancy and no use of cigarette at all in our case.…”

“…This is consistent with several studies done previously. Low family socio economic status was found to be significantly associated with ADHD in the study of Lola et al 20 A review of literature done by Kapil Sayaletal also found that children from low socioeconomy had 1.5 to 4 times more likely to have ADHD. 34 A study done in the UK on the Socioeconomic Associations with ADHD found that the risk of developing ADHD will be doubled if their parents were in financial problem during infantile age.…”

“…For instance, this study is in line with the study of Lola et al which found out that males have about two times risk of developing ADHD than females. 20 A study done in Egypt has also shown male to female distribution of ADHD to be 1:7. 25 This could be due to neuroanatomical differences between males and females, as neurochemical factors like dopamine, noradrenergic system and epinephrine are postulated as etiology of ADHD.…”

Association of ferritin level with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children

“…Skeletal bone immaturity in boys also causes more susceptibility to damage and increased chance of experiencing ADHD. 7 The mean hemoglobin level in the case group was 12.30.8 while in the control group it was 12.81.1. In this study there was no subjects experiencing anemia both in the case and control groups.…”