Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents

Abstract

A ttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood mental health disorder. There seems to be wide range in the prevalence of the condition throughout the world. Epidemiology of ADHD across the lifespan is also variable and heterogeneous. In the UK, a survey of 10 438 children between the ages of five and 15 years found that 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls had ADHD. 1 This sur vey was founded on careful assessment and included impairment in the diagnosis.The more restricted diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder (HD) in ICD-10, representing a severe subgroup of DSM-IV-TR combined-type ADHD, is naturally less common; prevalence estimates are around 1.5% for boys in the primary school years. 2 In the international studies prevalence estimates of ADHD vary widely and the reasons for which remain poorly understood. In 2007 Polanczyk and colleagues 3 undertook a systemic review of prevalence studies from January 1978 to December 2005 and reviewed textbooks and reference lists of the studies selected. The ADHD/HD worldwide-pooled prevalence was 5.29%. This estimate was associated with significant variability. In the multivariate metaregression model, diagnostic criteria, source of information, requirement of impairment for diagnosis, and geographic origin of the studies were significantly associated with ADHD/HD prevalence rates. Geographic location was associated with significant variability only between estimates from North America and both Africa and the Middle East. No significant differences were found between Europe and North America. The authors also commented that the source of information and assessment of clinical impairment could influence the prevalence rates. They concluded that population characteristics, methodology features, ethnic and cultural differences and diagnostic criteria involved in studies affect the prevalence of ADHD.Another systemic review by found wide variation in the prevalence of ADHD among different studies, ranging from 2.2 to 17.8%. 4 The BELLA study group's estimated prevalence rates for the diagnoses of ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria were 5.0% and the rate for HD according to ICD-10 criteria was 1.0%. 5 Higher prevalence rates were found in boys and in younger children. The lifetime administrative prevalence rate was 6.5%.In a study to determine prevalence of ADHD in Colombian Paisa children and adolescents the prevalence rates were estimated to be 19.8% and 12.3% for boys and girls, respectively. 6 Estimated prevalence of undiagnosed ADHD within substance use disorder inpatients in South London was around 12%. Those individuals with substance use disorders and ADHD had significantly higher self-rated impairments across several domains of daily life; and higher rates of substance abuse and alcohol consumption, suicide attempts, and depression recorded in their case records. It is also evident that the disorder persists into adulthood in two-thirds of cases. The best available estimate of ADHD prevalence is 4.4% in adulthood. 7 Diagnosis Attention Deficit Hypera...

Prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in men with alcohol dependence – A case-control study

“…The most common and impairing comorbidity of an undiagnosed ADHD in adults is substance use disorder (SUD) [1]. There is a high prevalence of alcohol and other drug misuse in adults with undiagnosed ADHD [2]. Approximately 11-35% of adults with substance misuse have been found to have ADHD [1,[3][4][5].…”