The highest rates emerged from Africa (8.5%) and South America (11.8%). Corroboration comes from a dimensional ADHD scale used in 21 countries. Japanese and Finnish children scored lowest, Jamaican and Thai children scored highest, and American children scored about average (7).
In a comprehensive study by Deloitte, researchers found that the disorder's worldwide prevalence ranges from 2% to 5%, encompassing both children and adults3. In Australia, ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting 6-7% of the population4.
The CDC study, reported in March of this year, found overall, 14% of children 3-17 have ever been diagnosed with either ADHD or learning disability, including 17% of Black children, 15% of white children and 12% of Hispanic children.
These, the researchers argued, were due to the methodological differences that existed between studies, rather than differences in the actual distribution of ADHD internationally. In other words, children with ADHD were evenly distributed throughout the planet; no one country had a monopoly over the disorder.
Findings. This cohort study of 238 011 children examined the association between race/ethnicity and the diagnosis of ADHD. Asian, Black, and Hispanic children were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD compared with White children. White children were also more likely to receive treatment for ADHD.
ADHD prevalence among Japanese adults was estimated to be around 1.65% [8], which is lower than the estimated 2.5% prevalence of ADHD in adults from a meta-analysis [9]. This could potentially indicate a sizable proportion of undiagnosed and consequently untreated ADHD patients in Japan.
According to a meta- analysis in 2018, 5.6% of Chinese children are living with ADHD[6]. The overall prevalence of ADHD in China is 6.3%[7].
While the prevalence rates are increasingly similar by gender, the diagnosis rate among American men is nearly 69% higher than it is among American women (5.4% of men in the U.S. have an ADHD diagnosis vs. just 3.2% of women.1)
Rather, the rise seems to be due to an increase in access to healthcare; a decrease in stigmatization about receiving mental health care; and greater awareness of the symptoms of ADHD among clinicians, guardians, educators, and patients. In the past, ADHD was only diagnosed in children who were hyperactive.
Social media has also propelled ADHD into popular awareness, as it has taken over platforms like TikTok and Twitter. As of May 2022, the hashtag #adhd has 11.4 billion views on TikTok. Many people credit these platforms with helping them realize they had the diagnosis and subsequently seeking treatment for it.
Similar to the hyperactive symptoms, impulsive symptoms are typically seen by the time a child is four years old and increase during the next three to four years to peak in severity when the child is seven to eight years of age.
You can inherit genes that boost risk for ADHD from your mother, from your father or from both parents. In a recent Norwegian study, inherited risk was somewhat higher when a child's mother had ADHD compared to their father, but researchers weren't certain why that would be. What are the main causes of ADHD?
On its own, ADHD is not usually covered by the NDIS. That's because it can be hard for someone with ADHD to meet the NDIS eligibility criteria for a severe and permanent disability.
It is estimated one in 20 children in Australia have ADHD and diagnosis in adults is on the rise. Official guidelines have a powerful role in medicine because they help to standardise care across the country.
ADHD: a disabling condition
It is recognized as a disability under the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act.
Researchers point to multiple factors that could lead to overdiagnosis, including age. In any given grade level, students' ages can vary by as much as a year, and, believe me, there is an enormous difference between a five year old with 1,825 days under his belt and one with 2,189.
Findings. In this systematic scoping review of 334 published studies in children and adolescents, convincing evidence was found that ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and adolescents. For individuals with milder symptoms in particular, the harms associated with an ADHD diagnosis may often outweigh the benefits.
“Nobody has perfect memory… but for [people with ADHD], it's extreme. They feel like they're lost all the time,” Almagor said. He believes this is why people don't take ADHD seriously. “I think that's why some people don't respect the severity of what [a person with ADHD] can experience,” he said.
Though not often listed as symptoms, other indications of ADHD in girls and women include co-occurring depression and anxiety, difficult romantic relationships that can lead to intimate partner violence, trouble maintaining friendships, and at least one space in her life in disarray (messy house, messy bedroom, or ...
D., associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California at Irvine, conducted an interactive poll on girls and ADHD, and found the same: ADHD often expresses itself in girls through excessive talking, poor self-esteem, worrying, perfectionism, risk-taking, and nosiness — not the typical ...
In 2021, research showed that for every 100 white children diagnosed with ADHD, there are 83 Black and 77 Hispanic children, and just 48 Asian children, with the diagnosis.
ADHD is estimated to affect around 5% of children and 2.5% of adults worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
6.6 percent Hispanic. 10.5 percent Black, non-Hispanic. 9.9 percent White, non-Hispanic. 2.2 percent Asian, non-Hispanic.