Incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Diagnoses in Navarre (Spain) from 2003 to 2019

Abstract

(1) Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) constitutes one of the leading mental health and behavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence. The main objective of this study was to analyze the time trend in the incidence of ADHD diagnoses in Navarre (Spain) from 2003 to 2019 in children and adolescents from 5 to 19 years old. Additionally, the seasonal trends of ADHD incidence and ADHD prevalence were determined. (2) Methods: A population-based observational retrospective study, which included people born between 1991 and 2011 and who attended compulsory education between 2007 and 2017 in Navarre (Spain), was carried out with data from both the Education and Health Department databases. (3) Results: The incidence rate increased from 4.18 cases per 1000 person-years in 2003 to 7.43 cases per 1000 person-years in 2009, before decreasing progressively to 2.1 cases per 1000 person-years in 2019. A peak incidence rate at 7–8 years of age was observed, which is consistent across the study period and for both genders. Males were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than females, with similar time trends in both. A seasonal pattern in ADHD diagnosis was found, with peaks in February–March and the lowest rates in the summer months. Inattentive cases were much more frequent than hyperactive cases, whereas combined cases remained low across the study period. (4) Conclusions: In this age-period-cohort analysis, a clear period and age effect was observed. We found a decreasing trend in the ADHD incidence rate since 2015. Further research is needed to confirm whether a change of trend is occurring globally.

Behavioral characteristics and parenting styles in chronic habitual hyperfunctional childhood dysphonia

“…Lima and Behlau [29] and Reis-Rego et al [39], both of whom used the SDQ, found a strong correlation between the higher hyperactivity/inattention scores and the presence of CHCD. The difference between our results and those of the two studies could be explained by the large size sample and the male dominance, as Leache et al [40] found that males were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as females.…”

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among American Youth: A Comprehensive 20-Year Analysis of National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Data

“…Age-specific patterns revealed that ADHD diagnoses were more prevalent among adolescents aged 10 to 17 years, implying the unique challenges associated with this developmental phase. These age-specific patterns are in concordance with earlier studies, which consistently reported higher ADHD prevalence rates among adolescents aged 10 to 17 years [ 5 , 14 - 15 ]. This suggests that the complexities associated with adolescence may exacerbate ADHD symptoms, thereby contributing to the observed heightened prevalence during this developmental stage.…”

Quantifying Potential Bias Resulting From Child Age on Screening for Hyperactive/Impulsive Presentations of ADHD

“…Despite the guidance to “consider development” when conducting screening for ADHD (NICHQ, 2002), it is possible that clinicians might treat some developmentally typical behavior for pathology in determining whether a child should be given an ADHD diagnosis. Other epidemiological studies, however, report incidence of ADHD peaking slightly later in elementary school age children (Leache et al, 2021) while others have larger age groupings with peak incidence from 6 to 11 years of age (Bitsko et al, 2022). Taking these studies together, the role of absolute age in ADHD diagnosis is unclear.…”