Kaiser Links ADHD, Demographics

A new study by Kaiser Permanente researchers suggests a cultural link to the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in California's children.

According to the study of the electronic medical records of 850,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 who received care at Kaiser Permanente's Southern California facilities between 2001 and 2010, 4.9% were diagnosed with ADHD. However, 5.6% of white children received such a diagnosis. By comparison, only 4.1% of African-Americans, 2.5% of Latinos and 1.2% Asian kids were diagnosed with ADHD.

And the overall ADHD diagnostic rate also rose.

For example, the overall rate of ADHD diagnosis was 2.5% in 2001, but that rose to 3.1% in 2010.

“Our study findings suggest that there may be a large number of factors that affect ADHD diagnosis rates, including cultural factors that may influence the treatment-seeking behavior of some groups,” said study lead author Darios Getahun, M.D., of Kaiser Permanente's Southern California's Department of Research & Evaluation. “These findings are particularly solid given that our study relied on clinical diagnoses of ADHD based on the criteria specified within the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and that it represents a large and ethnically diverse population that can be generalized to other populations.”

In addition to the greater rates of ADHD diagnosis among white kids, boys were three times more likely to receive such a diagnosis than girls, and children from households earning more than $30,000 a year were 20% more likely to be diagnosed than those from households that make less.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 4% and 12% of U.S. children have the disorder, which is linked to short attention spans and related behavioral issues. The CDC estimates the disorder costs up to $52 billion a year to treat.

“While the reasons for increasing ADHD rates are not well understood, contributing factors may include heightened awareness of ADHD among parents and physicians, which could have led to increased screening and treatment,” Getahun said. “This variability may indicate the need for different allocation

of resources for ADHD prevention programs,” she added.

The study's findings were published in the most recent issue of JAMA Pediatrics.