ADHD increasingly common in older kids: CDC report url

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CDC report: Diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and

Learning Disability: United States, 2004-2006.

(PHS) 2008-1565. 113 pp.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/Sr10_237.pdf

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*ADHD increasingly common in older kids, CDC says*

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer

© 2008 The Associated Press

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/health/5903733.html

ATLANTA --- More older children are being diagnosed with attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder while the rate is holding steady for

children under 12, according to a government report released Wednesday.

Some experts called the finding surprising, noting that most childhood

diagnoses traditionally occur by age 11.

The study didn't investigate why the increase in one age group was so

much higher than the other. It found the percentage of older children

diagnosed with ADHD has been rising by 4 percent each year.

Some experts say the increase may reflect that doctors are increasingly

considering the possibility of ADHD in older kids who have concentration

problems --- a trend that coincides with the marketing of ADHD

medications to teens and adults.

The finding may also reflect the misuse of Ritalin and other ADHD

medications in that age group as study aides and recreational

stimulants, some experts speculated.

" There are people out there being treated for ADHD that probably don't

meet the diagnostic criteria, " said Kollins, director of Duke

University Medical Center's ADHD Program.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder --- characterized by

impulsiveness, hyperactivity and inability to focus attention --- is a

behavioral and learning problem that usually appears in children by age 7.

The problem often is identified in school, and most children are

diagnosed by age 11. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

estimates that more than 4.4 million U.S. children have been diagnosed

with ADHD by medical professionals.

The new study draws its results from an annual survey of 35,000 to

40,000 U.S. households, in which government researchers go door-to-door

to conduct interviews. In households with children, parents are asked if

a doctor or health professional had ever told them that their child had

ADHD or attention deficit disorder (ADD).

The study's findings cover 1997 through 2006.

In each of those years, nearly 50 million children fell into the 6-to-17

age range, the study estimates. Roughly 4 million of them were given an

ADHD or ADD diagnosis, the study estimates.

For children ages 6 through 11, the proportion hovered around 7 percent

during those years. But for children 12 through 17, it rose from just

under 7 percent to nearly 10 percent. That increase wasn't seen in

previous government estimates, said Pastor, a CDC health

statistician and the study's lead author.

It may reflect a growing understanding that a child --- especially an

older kid --- can have ADHD without being disruptively impulsive or

hyperactive, said Jeff Epstein, director of the ADHD center at

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Another factor may be that ADHD is sometimes diagnosed when adolescents

are being checked for other conditions, such as depression, said Dr.

Mohammad Ghaziuddin, director of the University of Michigan's ADHD and

autism program.

Meanwhile, the use of ADHD medications has been increasing. According to

the CDC, doctor's visits for children under 15 where methylphenidate ---

also known as Ritalin --- was prescribed or given went from 1.9 million

in 1993 to 3.2 million in 2005.

The marketing of newer ADHD drugs like Aderall XR and Strattera to

adults and older kids is pushing up use, experts said.

" I think the industry does drive a lot of it, " said Kollins of Duke,

referring to pharmaceutical marketing.

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On the Net:

The CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs

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