ADHD On The Rise? US Sees Increase In Attention Deficit Kids

ATLANTA — A government survey says 1 in 10 U.S. children has ADHD, a sizable increase from a few years earlier that researchers think might be explained by growing awareness and better screening.

ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, makes it hard for kids to pay attention and control impulsive behavior. It's often treated with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both.

The new study found that about two-thirds of the children who have ADHD are on medication.

The estimate comes from a survey released Wednesday that found an increase in ADHD of about 22 percent from 2003 to the most recent survey in 2007-08. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed parents of children ages 4 through 17 in both studies.

In the latest survey, 9.5 percent said a doctor or health care provider had told them their child had ADHD. The earlier study found that fewer than 8 percent of kids had been diagnosed with it.

Researchers calculate about 5.4 million kids have been diagnosed with ADHD, which suggests that about 1 million more children have the disorder than a few years earlier.

Scientists don't have clear answers about why there was such a significant increase. Study lead author Susanna Visser of the CDC suggests greater awareness and stepped-up screening efforts as part of the explanation.

"Regardless of what's undergirding this, we know more parents are telling us their children have ADHD," Visser said.

One expert found it hard to believe that so many kids might have ADHD. "It sounds a little high," said Howard Abikoff, a psychologist who is director of the Institute for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders at New York University's Child Study Center.

Other studies have suggested more like 5 percent of kids have ADHD, and there are no known biological reasons for it to be on a recent increase, he added.

Abikoff noted the CDC study is based on parents saying that a health care provider told them their child had ADHD, but it's not known who the health-care provider was or how thorough the assessment was.

ADHD diagnosis is a matter of expert opinion. There's no blood test or brain-imaging exam for the condition. Sometimes reading disabilities or other problems in the classroom cause a teacher or others to mistakenly think a child has ADHD, he said.

The CDC study noted an increase in diagnoses was seen in kids of all races and family income levels, and across all regions of the country except the West. The survey covered 73,000 children.

Of those who had ADHD at the time of the latest survey, about half had a mild form.

The research appears in the CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Online:

APHA: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

Comments

[giolordi]

10:33 PM on 12/09/2010

Read This Article http://www.mindmotivations.com/resources/articles/new-reports-add-and-adhd
Give me your thoughts and comments on this.

[hulagirrrl]

06:27 AM on 11/18/2010

I remember when Hilary Clinton as first lady brought the issue up and said that too many children were prescribed Ritalin during the summer break from school. That was the first time I heard of Ritalin, and because I lived abroad for some time and there did not seem to be that same "problem" with medicated children it went into the back of my mind.... until I had a boy entering school and teachers telling me he was fidgety, did not control his impulses etc. all that at age six. I first off asked the teacher if she had a medical license, of course she did not. Then I researched and found that in comparison with the UK, most American kids are referred to doctors by teachers, and in the UK it is doctors asking teachers for opinion, the number of children diagnosed in the UK is lower.
My son was and is fine, he was a normal boy being with the wrong teacher. Now I look at these numbers and ask myself how much research is conducted in relation to the plastics in our daily diets, horrible chemicals in our homes and radiation and all sorts of things in our environment? I believe that the connection is to be found there and maybe in part by lack of parenting, too many computer games, too little real play, possibly lack of exposure to daylight and sun.

[MrSkye]

08:01 AM on 11/17/2010

In the old days, they had a different word for ADHD, and a good way of curing it too. But nowadays, it's not polite to call people idiots. The failure of progress.

[bassfishingchief]

01:02 AM on 11/17/2010

I do think that ADHD exists, but I think it's male bovine excrement that 1 in 10 children have it. It seems obvious to me that the "rise" of ADHD stems from two obvious sources. Parents are obviously the first source, in our current narcissistic society parents care more about themselves than their child's education. It takes time to ensure your kids education is on track especially if a child has fallen behind, and it takes that time day in and day out. Instead of recognizing or admitting that they are deficient parents most will just say there most be something wrong with their kid, it is after all much easier it get you child to take medication than to supervise and tutor them on a daily basis. The second source is probably the one some people are not going to want to hear, but we all acknowledge the fact that intelligence is bestowed in different amounts. We can't all be geniuses, but many parents can't face the fact that their kid just may not be the sharpest tack in the box. So again instead of facing reality, there must be something wrong with the kid so lets medicate them.

Again I'm not denying the existence of ADHD, but this over medication of children in our country has got to stop.

[Sharon Hanson]

09:42 PM on 11/15/2010

Here we go again explaining away an increase in ADHD as being diagnosed more often. Boy is that explanation getting lame. Figure out what is causing disease will you already. And while you're at it take the toxic gadolinium based contrasting agents GBCAs used in MRIs and MRAs off the market as this stuff is showing up in the reproductive organs of women in their childbearing years. Are you listening CDC, FDA and NIH? Gadolinium is a TOXIC HEAVY METAL and it is showing up in the reproductive organs of women of child bearing years. Over 300M doses have been administered worldwide. It causes death and a terrible sometimes fatal disease called Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis or Gadolinium Associated Systemic Fibrosis.

[DFDuncan]

05:31 PM on 11/15/2010

This report makes a very common error of generalizing a finding that more kids are being diagnosed with ADHD into a conclusion that there has been an increase in ADHD. That is not a reasonable conclusion. For most diseases, the number of undiagnosed cases exceeds the number of actual cases to a large extent. Sometimes the opposite is true.

With ADHD my experience suggests that the truth is both that a majority of kids with ADHD are not diagnosed and that a large proportion of the kids diagnosed with ADHD (often by a non-psychiatrist physician) are misdiagnosed. But in any case you can't judge the prevalence of most disorders based on the number of cases that have been diagnosed through the health care system and even less by asking parents about their child's diagnoses.

[JonGH]

01:24 PM on 11/15/2010

There are lot of good comments here. The etiology of ADHD is undoubtedly complex.

I think the behavior that we have called "ADHD" since ~1980 is really many related behaviors grouped under an umbrella term: ADHD. Thus, there are different causes for different cases (sub-types) of ADHD.

Is there really any debate anymore? The etiology or cause of ADHD is multi-factorial. No doubt, genetics plays a profound role in most (all?) cases. In some cases, the nationally prominent medical scientists who investigate "pediatric environmental medicine" (quoted in mt previous posts below) believe that perinatal exposure to ubiquitous, man-made, toxic chemicals/substances play a significant role. While in other cases, this may not be a factor.

Then there is "childhood environment" (psychological). This undoubtedly plays a role in some (many?) cases. The quality of the psychological environment that the infant and child is exposed to matters, profoundly. Parenting matters. This is a complex subject (developmental psychology), but infants and children clearly need sufficient and specific ‘emotional nutrients’ for positive psychosocial development just as they need sufficient dietary nutrients for positive physical development. Infants and children who experience psychological/emotional neglect and deprivation display a wide range of poor psychological outcomes. The landmark work done by pioneering child psychologists John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth in the 1960s and 70s brilliantly demonstrated this. In sum here, I think that one factor contributing to some cases of ADHD can clearly be an inadequate infant/childhood psychological/emotional environment.

[JonGH]

01:32 PM on 11/15/2010

And yes, I think that automatically labeling any high-energy, “non-compliant” child with “ADHD” is simplistic and unwise. More importantly, automatically putting any child labeled with ADHD on Ritalin (because you don’t know what else to do) is also unwise. I’m certainly not anti-medication (it does help some), but many of these drugs such as Ritalin are grossly over prescribed.

I think more exercise and play would help a lot of these kids. Young children need play. (I know, I have a 5 and 8 year old.) This is how they learn. And if their diet is poor, improved diet is always a good idea (and can’t hurt). And many of these kids are experiencing neglect, or instability, or stress at home. Merely drugging these kids is not the answer.

[Toonguy]

04:27 PM on 11/15/2010

Getting plenty of exercise is never a bad thing (ask any doctor) but it is not going to help a patient with ADHD to compensate for the faulty executive functions in their brains. It's like asking a person with poor eyesight to just "look harder."

[KapyoChe]

11:39 AM on 11/15/2010

We have thrown so much at kids that it is hard not to have attention deficit. I think it is the culture that is causing it rather than anything in the air.

[emmeaki]

05:36 PM on 11/27/2010

I agree. Kids lives are too structured nowadays. Play dates? Whatever happened to knocking on Johnny's door to see if he could come out and play. Even friendship is contrived. Some kids are forced to do extracurricular activities or they have hug homework loads. Some kids have schedules so packed that they rival that of the president of the United States! Preschool at two instead of four (like when I was a child). They have to know how to read by the age of four, etc. etc. I think we are just pushing kids too far. Let them relax a bit and have a true childhood. I bet that ADHD isn't on the rise, just the diagnosis of ADHD.

[erinwithane]

11:20 AM on 11/15/2010

I don't know, I think the same percentage of the population has always had ADD/ADHD. The only thing that's changed, is now we have a set of diagnostic criteria, a name for the disorder, a way to treat, and a way to help these kids be successful.

Back in the day, these kids wore dunce caps, were spanked with wooden paddles in front of their classmates, had their hands slapped with rulers, were called names & made fun of by their teachers, and were subject to all sorts of abuse and mistreatment by teachers, other children, and school principles. Most of the time these kids were sent to reformatory's to endure even more harsh treatment and abuse, or were expelled from the public school system before the age of 13.

[phishphan]

09:38 PM on 11/15/2010

This article sounds like an ad for the drug makers. My daughter has ADHD and we're not getting suckered into hooking a 5 year old on drugs.

[hulagirrrl]

06:34 AM on 11/18/2010

If your daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD at such young age, I would question this diagnosis.

[BlackCatBone]

08:32 AM on 11/15/2010

Better diagnostic practices and awareness would certainly account for some of the increase in cases. Many children go unnoticed because they don't "act" like they have ADHD. I wasn't diagnosed until the age of 41, after a lifetime of psychological problems, addictions, failed relationships and bad choices. Lack of treatment, whether that's medication, cognitive or even just awareness of the issue can have devastating effects. Increased diagnosis where appropriate is a good thing.

That said, I don't think that greater awareness accounts for all of it. For those claiming diet is at the root of it, no. Diet can exacerbate ADHD symptoms but it doesn't cause it. I also think it's a good idea to have home observations of family behaviors and dynamics. Behavioral problems can also mimic ADHD. The modern digital age might well be responsible for an increase in those genetically predisposed. This is an issue that even ADHD experts agree with. ADHD is heritable, not inherited.

[Danchi]

08:16 AM on 11/15/2010

I saw first hand kids being diagnosed as ADHD when I was a Foster Care Licensing Expert. Any child that came into care that was not "controllable" or didn't conform to classroom standards was tested and labeled with this diagnosis. There is no brain pathology for ADHD and diagnosis was subjective. The diagnosis was over used and abused from my perspective and I fought with many school principles to prevent a child from being labeled and put on Ritalin. The bottom line once in the system and if the agency wanted the child to stay in that particular school they had to be medicated. This was an abused practice in the 1980's and it continues to this day. Ritalin was being prescribed without the benefit of long term studies. I know two young people who were in school with my children, both prescribed Ritalin and used it through high school, both later diagnosed with depression and one has attempted suicide twice.

Because Ritalin has been given to children for the last 20 years or so what are the long term effects and are some of the children who are being diagnosed as ADHD children of one or both parents who used Ritalin as a child? Is there a greater probability the children of Ritalin users having more cognitive, physical (actual neurological problems, seizures, lower IQ etc) or behavioral problems?

[Toonguy]

10:34 AM on 11/15/2010

Since ADHD didn't exist as a diagnosis prior to the late 70's, it is no surprise that everyone was jumping on the bandwagon to use this novel concept to explain behaviors in the early 80's. But that was nearly 30 years ago. Are you saying nothing has improved since then?

[Danchi]

11:44 AM on 11/15/2010

There was more than a band wagon-there was a wagon train. Every agency in our county had multiple number of children labeled and on Ritalin. We actually had Foster Parents defy the schools and not give the drug to the kids. What they did was give the child they had in care coffee three times a day. Oddly it calmed the child down. The Drs. who prescribed Ritalin were amazed and supported the FR in doing this.

The only difference is there is actually a broader criteria for ADHD. It's subjective. That's scary. I feel the drug companies have pushed this ADHD. There are still many Drs who say there is no such thing as ADHD because there is no brain pathology for it. I think the stats on the effectiveness of drug treatment have been tweaked to look good on paper. People who believe in drug therapy will support but there are parents that use a holistic approach to modifying their child behavior. Many have been successful with removing toxins, gluten, chemical additives and so on.That's not the easy way. It takes devotion and a lot of time. I've seen parents shunned by schools and Drs. who just want to dope the kid up-it easier. I'm not saying the child doesn't have behavior issues but it may be as simple as adjusting their diet or better parenting and teaching. I know this pisses people off when I say that but it is what it is.

[Foodgrade]

06:13 PM on 11/14/2010

Bunk. The whole thing is a drug company con. Talk about selling drugs at schools. The pot dealers aren't even in the same league as big pharma.

[Toonguy]

10:34 AM on 11/15/2010

And by what process did you arrive at this conclusion?

[Foodgrade]

12:12 PM on 11/15/2010

It's clear that grade schools and highschools are in the business of pushing ritalin for the drug companies. The school social worker is the main pusher.

[Nopinky]

04:37 PM on 11/14/2010

I don't know either way, but to all the people suggesting that ADD and ADHD are caused by food chemicals, I would like to point something out. Before food chemicals, humans were exposed to many, MANY more chemicals that are known absolutely to be harmful or deadly. Think of the industrial revolution. All the dumping into the water supply which was not cleaned, all the stuff pumped into the air and leaked into the ground. We have actually done a really good job in most places of cleaning up from a couple of centuries of hard-core toxins.
The one factor that no one ever wants to talk about in terms of childhood disorders (ADD and autism are prime targets) is the ever-increasing number of older mothers and artificially created children. Good luck finding a sponsor to say that the multi-billion dollar baby-making industry might be creating children with genetic deficiencies, I know, but if nothing else I'm sure this will get some clutches of "I can have it all" women who had their first child in their 30s and 40s up in arms, and it might at least spark some consideration of the impact.
And by the way- before y'all start with "my miracle baby is perfect" - I'm sure many of them are, and congratulations. But in terms of increased occurrence? I'm just saying look at the rates.

[hubbardlake]

09:00 PM on 11/14/2010

I think part of the problem is poor parenting and too much electronic stimulation for very young children. These children are being trained to have a short attention span. In fact, I think we adults, are being retrained to be this way, too. I'm sure there are truly some people/children who have a real genetic problem. However, I think a vast majority is just the boom in using electronics instead of actually doing something. Examples, using Wii to play sports instead of getting out there and being with real people. I mean geez, people don't even want to be bothered to talk with people anymore or participate with one person or group at a time. Gotta text another "friend" while having lunch with another. How self-important can an individual be that they can be fully engaged with another person. Sometimes you just have to make a choice, do you want to speak with the person in front of you or send texts through a machine to another person? People don't seem to want to have to make a choice.

[MeinNH]

10:14 AM on 11/15/2010

"I think part of the problem is poor parenting and too much electronic stimulation for very young children'...I do have to agree with you on that. Some children do have real ADHD or ADD, but to add all the stimulation that surrounds us now does a lot of damage. In the 70's scientists talked about the hypnotic affect that television had on people and how abruptly shutting it off caused rages, yet it was poo pooed.

[Sharon Hanson]

09:57 PM on 11/15/2010

Oh sure blame the mothers. Or you could look to MRIs and MRAs with gadolinium based contrasting agents (GBCAs) used. Gadolinium is a toxic heavy metal that stays in the body (including the reproductive organs) long after it should have left. Just ask GE's predecessor, they knew in the 80s that this toxic heavy metal stayed in the liver and kidneys of mice more than the other contrasting agents. Did they tell the FDA? Who knows. Only 300M doses of GBCAs have been administered since the late 80s worldwide. I don't suppose having this toxic heavy metal in our reproductive organs could cause disease do you? It's probably good for baby.

[merlinspinoza]

01:51 PM on 11/14/2010

http://adhd-tm.org/

[relevancematters]

01:51 PM on 11/14/2010

I think somebody should get serious about testing children for food allergies. Our diets are full of "food-like substances" that are not natural. This is not to say that all ADD or ADHD kids are the victims of artificial nutrition, and it's not as simple as "get rid of white sugar", but the human body is a chemical factory, fueled by what we eat. Drugs for attention-deficit are designed to replace something that's missing from the system; we really ought to find out why these things are missing before we go for the drugs.

[Toonguy]

10:39 AM on 11/15/2010

I'm no expert, but most psychological drugs are designed to suppress the production of certain chemicals to force the body to produce more of what's missing. I'm not sure there are many foods that will do that.