Prevalence of ADHD 11.3 Percent for Children Aged 5 to 17 Years in 2020 to 2022

WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was 11.3 percent among children aged 5 to 17 years during 2020 to 2022, according to a March data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Cynthia Reuben and Nazik Elgaddal, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from the 2020 to 2022 National Health Interview Survey to describe the percentage of children and adolescents who have ever been diagnosed with ADHD.

The researchers found that the prevalence of ever diagnosed ADHD was 11.3 percent in children aged 5 to 17 years during 2020 to 2022, with a higher prevalence for boys than girls (14.5 versus 8.0 percent). The likelihood of having ADHD was lower for children ages 5 to 11 years than those ages 12 to 17 years. Compared with Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic children, White non-Hispanic children ages 5 to 17 years were more likely to have ADHD (13.4 percent versus 10.8 and 8.9 percent, respectively). As the level of family income increased, the prevalence of ADHD decreased. ADHD was more likely among children with public or private health insurance than among those without insurance (14.4 and 9.7 percent, respectively, versus 6.3 percent).

“The prevalence was higher in children ages 12 to 17 years than in children ages 5 to 11 years, and the same pattern was seen across nearly all subgroups of sociodemographic characteristics presented, including sex, race and Hispanic origin, and family income,” the authors write.

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