ADHD
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Headline

In 2004, around one out of every 10 males ages three to 17 were reported to have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder by a doctor or other health professional. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have "chronic level[s] of inattention, impulsive hyperactivity, or both such that daily functioning is compromised."¹ Children can be diagnosed with one of three types of ADHD: predominantly inattentive type (previously known simply as attention deficit disorder), predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, or combined type.² Treatment for ADHD can include behavioral counseling, emotional counseling, practical support, and medication.³

Approximately half of all children with ADHD have other mental disorders as well, including learning disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Tourette's Syndrome, Conduct Disorder, anxiety, and depression.⁴

ADHD can affect children's lives in many ways, especially when it goes untreated. Children with ADHD may have a more difficult time making and maintaining friendships than do their peers.⁵ Adolescents with ADHD may be more likely than their peers to fall behind in their school work,⁶ to use alcohol and tobacco, have negative moods, and spend less time with their families.⁷ Children and adolescents with ADHD are also much more likely than their peers to suffer injuries while walking, biking, or driving and to be admitted to the hospital for accidental poisoning.⁸ The effects of ADHD may be cumulative and negatively influence adult functioning. One longitudinal study following children with ADHD into young adulthood found that at age 20, young adults with ADHD were less likely to have completed high school and be enrolled in college, had more trouble maintaining friendships, and lower job performance ratings than their peers without ADHD. They also had sexual intercourse at an earlier age, were more likely to be involved in a teen pregnancy and be treated for an STD, and had lower savings.⁹

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) included ADHD as an emerging issue in its second annual report, America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses. Although it is unknown whether environmental contaminants contribute to ADHD, several of the symptomatic behaviors are similar to those for children exposed to lead and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).¹⁰

Trends

The percentage of children diagnosed with ADHD has remained fairly constant from 1997 to 2004, wavering between 6 percent and 7 percent, and was at 7 percent in 2004. (See Table 1)

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Differences by Gender

Males were more than two times as likely as females to have been diagnosed with ADHD in 2004 (10 percent versus 4 percent respectively). (See Figure 1)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin

In 2004, 9 percent of non-Hispanic white children and 8 percent of non-Hispanic black children had been diagnosed with ADHD compared with only 4 percent of Hispanic children. (See Table 1)

Differences by Age

Older children are more likely than younger children to have been diagnosed with ADHD. In 2004, 2 percent of children ages three to four had been diagnosed with ADHD, while 6 percent of children ages five to eleven and 10 percent of children ages 12 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD. (See Figure 2)

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Differences by Type of Insurance Coverage

In 2004, 9 percent of children with public health insurance had been diagnosed with ADHD, compared with 6 percent of children no health insurance and 7 percent of children with private insurance. (See Figure 3) This difference may exist because families that have children with ADHD and cannot afford private insurance may be more likely than other low-income families to seek out public health insurance in order to access the health care their children need.

Differences by Usual Source of Health Care

Children with no usual source of health care are almost twice as likely to have been diagnosed with ADHD in comparison to children who have a usual source of health care (8 percent versus 4 percent, respectively, in 2004). (See Table 1)

Related Indicators

Learning Disabilities

State and Local Estimates

While 2003 state estimates for the percentage of children with ADHD are not available, 2003 state estimates for the amount of children currently taking medication for ADD/ADHD are available through the National Survey for Children's Health at http://nschdata.org/anonymous/Dataquery/DataQuery.aspx?control=5 (Select Emotional and Mental Health under Child Health Measures)

International Estimates

None Available

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National Goals

None

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

Research References

¹Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder--What is ADHD? National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC. Retrieved June 20, 2005, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/factsheets/adhd_whatis.pdf

²Ibid.

³Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Decade of the Brain Report. (96-3572)(1996). Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.

⁴Ibid.

⁵Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder--Peer Relationships and ADHD (April, 2002). National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC. Retrieved March 13, 2003, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.psych.org/public_info/adhdfactsheet42401.pdf

⁶American Psychiatric Association. "Children and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder." Retrieved March 20, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://www.healthyminds.org/adhdfacts.cfm

⁷Whalen, C. K., Jamner, L. D., Henker, B., Delfino, R. J., & Lozano, J. M. (2002). The ADHD Spectrum and Everyday Life: Experience Sampling of Adolescent Moods, Activities, Smoking, and Drinking. Child Development, 73(1), 209-227.

⁸Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Injuries and ADHD (January, 2002). National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC. Retrieved March 13, 2003, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/injury.htm

⁹Fischer, Mariellen. "Hyperactive Kids as Adults: Adaptive Outcomes. Presentation to the American Psychological Association, August 19, 2005, Washington, D.C. Abstract available at: http://www.apa.org/convention05/homepage.html

¹⁰America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses. (Second Edition) (2003). Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/ace_2003.pdf

¹¹Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-- What is ADHD? (November 2001). Retrieved March 13, 2003, from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/factsheets/adhd_whatis.pdf

¹²America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body Burdens, and Illnesses. (Second Edition) (2003). Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/ace_2003.pdf

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Definition

For this indicator, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are those who have been identified by a doctor or other health professional as having the disorder. This information is reported by a knowledgeable adult within the household, usually a parent.

Children with ADHD are characterized by having a "chronic level of inattention, impulsive hyperactivity, or both such that daily functioning is compromised."¹¹ More information is available from the 2000 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), which gives criteria for diagnosing ADHD and is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/symptom.htm.

Note: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the American Psychiatric Association's current term used for children who may have previously been diagnosed as having either attention deficit disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.¹¹

Data Source

Data for 1998 to 2004: Child Trends original analysis of National Health Interview Survey data.

Data for 1997: Bloom B, and Tonthat L. "Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 1997." Vital Health Statistics 10(203). 2002. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/series/sr10/pre-200/sr10_203.htm

Raw Data Source

National Health Interview Survey
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

Approximate Date of Next Update

Winter 2006

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