The global prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary & key facts

Researchers combined results from many studies to estimate how common ADHD is in young people. They looked at 61 studies and used 53 of them to calculate numbers. Altogether the studies included about 97,000 children and teens. The review found that roughly 8 out of every 100 children aged 3 to 12 have ADHD, and about 6 out of every 100 teenagers aged 12 to 18 have ADHD. The review also found that newer diagnostic rules called DSM-5 tend to count more people as having ADHD than older rules. The authors say these results show ADHD is fairly common and that health systems should plan for diagnosis and care.

Key facts:

• The review combined 61 cross-sectional studies, and 53 of those studies were used to calculate how common ADHD is.
• About 97,000 children and teens were represented in the studies that the researchers analyzed.
• About 8% of children aged 3 to 12 were found to have ADHD in the pooled studies.
• About 6% of teenagers aged 12 to 18 were found to have ADHD in the pooled studies.
• Studies that used the DSM-5 diagnostic rules reported higher ADHD rates than studies using older diagnostic rules.
• Researchers checked whether the studies differed a lot from each other and whether some results were more likely to be published, which can affect the overall estimates.
• ADHD is described as a developmental brain condition with three main features: trouble paying attention, too much activity or restlessness, and acting without thinking.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder is a developmental neurological disorder that has three basic characteristics: Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents. METHODS: test was used to analyze study heterogeneity, and the Egger test was used to assess publication bias. RESULTS: This analysis includes 61 cross-sectional research, with 53 research used to determine the prevalence of ADHD in children, 7.6% of 96,907 children aged 3 to 12 years had ADHD (95% confidence interval: 6.1-9.4%), and 5.6% of teenagers aged 12 to 18 years have ADHD (95% confidence interval: 4.8-7%). The prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents according to the DSM-V criterion is also higher than previous diagnostic criteria, according to studies. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study based on meta-analysis show the high prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The findings of this study demonstrate the importance of management and policy in the treatment and control of ADHD in children and adolescents.

Topics

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children's Physical and Motor Development Historical and Modern Theater Studies

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Psychiatry and Mental health

Tags

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Clinical psychology Internal medicine Law Medicine MEDLINE Meta-analysis Political science Psychiatry Psychology Systematic review

Conditions & symptoms

ADHD Difficulty focusing