The Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Among Elementary School Children: The Effect of Certain Demographic Variables

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in Saudi children aged 6 to 13 years in Jeddah city. The study also explored the effect of variables namely teacher's knowledge, years of experience and teachers' gender on reported ADHD symptoms among primary grade students. A questionnaire survey methodology was adopted for the study. 550 children were included in the teachers' survey. Teachers assessed the ADHD symptoms in children using an 18-item scale based on DSM-V. The results indicated that the prevalence rates of ADHD among school-age differed according to ADHD subtypes. The Inattention type was rated by 35.34%, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity type was rated by 28.60%, and ADHD-C type was rated by 21.3% of the respondents. According to gender, for the Inattention subtype, the ratio between boys and girls was 1.7:1, for the Hyperactivity/Impulsivity subtype, the ratio between boys and girls was 2.03:1, and for combined subtype, the ratio between boys and girls was 2.2:1. According to the grade level, the highest prevalence of ADHD overall was found in grade three and the lowest prevalence was in grade six in all ADHD types. The present findings indicated that teachers' knowledge and gender (female) successfully predicted teacher-rated ADHD status.

The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Primary School Children in Amman, Jordan

“…According to our study, children had an ADHD prevalence of 27.7% according to parents and 22.5% according to teachers, which is within the range of prevalence of ADHD in 11 Arab countries [7,8].…”

“…Studies on the prevalence of ADHD among children in Arab countries are reportedly sparse and provide scant data. In the last 25 years, 26 studies on the prevalence of ADHD have been conducted in Arab countries, with rates ranging widely from 1.4% to 34.5%, according to a recent analysis [7,8]. The etiology of ADHD is multifactorial, involving both genetic and environmental variables [9].…”

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder prevalence and associated factors among primary schoolchildren in Amman-Jordan

“…According to Polanczyk et al's most recent meta-analysis study, which comprised 41 studies from 27 different countries, the worldwide prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents is 3.4% (Polanczyk et al, 2015). According to a recent meta-analysis by Thomas et al of 175 relevant papers from throughout the world, the worldwide prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents is 7.2% (Zagzoog et al, 2021;Thomas et al, 2015).…”

“…Studies on the prevalence of ADHD among children in Arab countries are reportedly sparse and provide scant data. In the last 25 years, 26 studies on the prevalence of ADHD have been conducted in Arab countries, with rates ranging widely from 1.4-34.5%, according to a recent analysis (Zagzoog et al, 2021;Alkhateeb & Alhadidi, 2016).…”

“…Zagzoog et al, 2021;Alkhateeb & Alhadidi, 2016).In Jordan, only two studies with vastly different ADHD prevalence percentages have been published: one in the Al-Qasr area in the south of Jordan with a prevalence of 6.24%, studied on 4374 students according to a teacher's questionnaire and using the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)(Navi & Shaheen, 2011), and the other in Al-Mafraq in the north of Jordan with a prevalence of up to 40.62%, studied on 480 schoolchildren according to a teacher's perspective and using Attention De cit Disorder Evaluation Scale (ADDES) (AlAzzam et al, 2017).A study conducted in Saudi Arabia(Zagzoog et al, 2020) revealed that the prevalence of ADHD ranged from 21.3-35.34% according to the ADHD subtypes. Another study in Egypt reported that the prevalence was 20.9% (El-Sayed et al, 2018).…”