Shots - NPR's Health Blog
ADHD On The Rise: 1 in 10 Kids Now Affected
Categories: Public Health & Prevention, Children's Health
12:08 pm
November 11, 2010
by Scott Hensley
The latest government figures show that 1 million more children in this country have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, in recent years.
iStockphoto.comA million more kids have been diagnosed with ADHD in recent years.
Nearly 1 in 10 children had been diagnosed with ADHD at some point in their lives, according a federal survey of parents conducted in 2007. That's up 22 percent from 2003, when the same survey found 1 in 13 children had received the diagnosis.
Why?
There's no clear answer.
The overall increase could reflect an increase in the disorder, or changes in the way it's diagnosed. But there are many more children who now carry the diagnosis and are candidates for care.
"Doctors and other health-care professionals have to be ready for the 1 million more children who will need to be managed," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Susan Visser told Bloomberg. She's lead researcher on the report, which appears in the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The biggest jumps were seen in children between 15 and 17 and among Hispanic or multiracial children. Researchers say the rise among Hispanic children may reflect better access to care, or greater cultural acceptance of the disorder.
But the disorder is still less common among Hispanics — about 6 percent — than among white or black children.
Finally, two-thirds of kids with a current diagnosis of ADHD were taking a medicine to treat it.
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L Nguyen (L__Nguyen) wrote:
How many of us can sit still for 8-9 hours a day being lectured to? We are failing our children with long school hours without meaningful hands-on education. This does not include homework! Is this the life we want for our children?
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:18:44 PM
Kelsey Kelsey (Schmelsey) wrote:
Answers to why ADHD is on the rise:
1. ADHD is TOO commonly misdiagnosed.
2. It's a fad disorder. It's talked about ALL the time.
3. Kids have energy, remember? They aren't as active as they used to be, so that energy builds up.
4. Kids also get bored. Switch things up. This is not news, people.Each one of my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents, etc. has been or could be diagnosed with ADHD. My parents refused to have my brother and I looked at, because too many people use ADHD as an excuse to get special treatment. Instead they called it "misdirected energy" and made sure my brother and I were signed up for sports and arts classes every day. These activities made it easier to focus each day, and we learned that work (in this case, school) comes before play. it might not be fun, but everyone has to do it.
Wanna go ride bikes?
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:17:35 PM
Tell Me (WhatToThink) wrote:
... you mean now diagnosed, doesn't mean people have changed.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:17:35 PM
Peter Kjenaas (PeterKjenaas) wrote:
ADHD the budget busting lie
Reading the above article on ADHD diagnosis in children I did the math on what that costs Americans annually. Roughly a quarter of the population is under 20 years of age, that yields 75,000,000 persons. 10% of those, it seems are being drugged or soon will be, have been labeled as ADHD. That is 7,500,000 people, people! (Hey, even if it's half that, it's a lot!)
At an average monthly cost of $40 (Consumer Health) for each child that comes to $300,000,000 PER MONTH in drug sales. (Again, these are just raw figures.) That is 3.6 BILLION dollars per year.
How much of that do you think we're paying?! Through tax funded programs that cover these drugs for kids? A lot.
Sounds like we could do our deficit some good just by ditching this ridiculous practice of drugging children for "fidgeting." I mean, wake up people!
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:10:12 PM
A P (thoughts_for_don) wrote:
Turn off your tv. Eat healthy. Exercise. Use your electronics after your kids go to bed. And STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. These simple steps will stop ADHD and ADHD symptoms from forming in most of the children who have been diagnosed.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:06:46 PM
Debra Williams (debralovesgospe) wrote:
James Hook....nail on the head. Create the condition...label it as something wrong with the kid and then medicate it. Maybe we need to make school more interesting and relevant..hands on..rather than just large rooms with one person at the board lecturing...doesnt work for most brains.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 2:02:49 PM
Lonnie Veal (Marrach) wrote:
@aeromedik
You also have a point: ADHD is REAL--
But here in NYC, a lot (I'm not saying it's a majority) of the ADHD cases orginate NOT from a Physician Diagnosing a child, but from the same Physician basically RUBBER-STAMPING a School System's desire to get a jumpy, but possibly normal child docilized for the sake of overall test scores.
I don't have an answer to this dilemma being that it is Political/Structural and not really MEDICAL. Nor am I posing it to you. . .
The Question I am asking is what happens when the current population of Drug Therapy managed Kids become Adults who May or May not have regular access to the drugs. I've read that at least 50% of ADHD children remain ADHD in Adulthood. And the EASY assumption on the part of writers at that point is just 'Continued regular drug regimen will maintain a high functional Quality of Life'
The thing is-- What does Adult Healthcare Policy see ADHD as? Mental Illness? Primary MEDICAL Syndrome? Is it a Disability?
I work in a Pediatric Clinic. I now have a batch of ADHD kids 'graduating' to adulthood at 19. Now their Parent's Health Insurance No longer covers them. They aren't in College. They need a Job. They STILL need the Drugs. They CAN'T AFFORD them.
Now What?
Thursday, November 11, 2010 1:55:31 PM
Mike Mike (outsidethelines50) wrote:
P.S. I realize now that had I been born in today's world, I would have been labeled ADHD also. Unknowingly, I adapted and learned what God put me on this world to do and be. Yes, my attention still wonders and I get bored quickly, but I'm doing pretty stinking well running my mid size business.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 1:42:15 PM
James Hook (CaptainHook) wrote:
Create the condition, then create the drug to treat it. Notice I said 'treat' and not 'cure'. Curing would be a bad thing for the drug companies.
The wheels on the bus go 'round 'round 'round.Thursday, November 11, 2010 1:40:50 PM
T Gski (TJG) wrote:
Why? Really? I think it ought to mandatory for parents to have their parenting skills assessed before any ADHD diagnosis can be made, and certainly befor any medication can be prescribed. The article does not say, but I assume the greatest protion of those diagnosed are boys, too. Parents are too ready to express frustration with boys that are too active, or not attentive enough, or not motivated in the way the parents want them directed. Then "doctors" are too willing to make quick diagnosos to please the parents and prescibe drugs.
And teacher sare complicit in this masquerade too. Just as the parents do not have the patience for "boys being boys," neither do teachers. School is now a girl dominated construct. Boys have higher drop out rates. Girls are the majority of college students these days. If boys are not gilr like in their behavior in school, well there must be something wrong with them. Mom, dad you have to do something... get him some counseling... maybe some medication.
ADHD is a real condition that needs real treatment, but like autism, in many cases, it is a crutch to excuse adults from the responsbility to help direct their children.
Thursday, November 11, 2010 1:38:51 PM
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