ADHD is not really on the rise, study suggests
ADHD is not rising despite public perception that cases are increasing, a study suggests.
Researchers at King's College London found little evidence to suggest that the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was getting worse, and said many studies suggesting an increase were of too low quality to be trusted.
Dr Alex Martin, lecturer in psychology at King's, said: 'The media has been concerned about a 'surge' in ADHD diagnoses for several years.
'While assessments and help-seeking may be increasing, our study has shown significant gaps in the tracking of ADHD prevalence, resulting in a frustratingly unclear picture.
'The best data we have suggests that there has been no meaningful increase in ADHD prevalence, but most of the research is too biased to draw conclusions from.'
Anecdotal reports suggest that the UK has had an unprecedented rise in the number of children and adults seeking support for ADHD, with significant backlogs of people currently awaiting assessment.
The demand for ADHD diagnoses has exacerbated pressures on the NHS, with a survey by the Pensions Committee in 2023 finding that about one in four people faced delays of two years while one in 10 waited 10 years for an assessment.
There were fears that the Covid pandemic and social media may have exacerbated the problem, with many more youngsters experiencing mental health issues during lockdowns.
But while calls for assessments are growing, there is little evidence to suggest it was leading to a rise in the overall prevalence of the condition, the study found.
The team discovered that studies suggesting ADHD rates were rising were of low quality, using self-reporting surveys, or reported symptoms from parents and teachers, rather than actual clinical diagnoses.
Researchers said that the demand for assessments might be driven by increased awareness, rather than more cases.
Between January and May last year, there were 25,080 media articles published on ADHD compared with 5,775 articles in the same period in 2014.
The growth of the 'neurodiversity movement' may also have played a role in raising the profile of the condition and encouraging more people to seek help.
Edmund Sonuga-Barke, professor of developmental psychology at King's, said: 'The neurodiversity movement, with its concentration on personal lived experience and self-compassion as the ultimate reference point for decision-making, is likely driving cultural change.
'In this regard, it's potentially increasing rates of self-referral among adolescents and adults.'
In the UK, it's estimated that ADHD affects about 3-5 per cent of children and adults.
The US has far higher rates, with nearly 12 per cent of youngsters diagnosed with the condition. This has led to a crackdown by the Trump administration on over-prescribing of ADHD drugs to youngsters.
Prof Sonuga-Barke said US and UK rates were likely to be similar and he agreed there should be an investigation.
'I think the prevalence of ADHD is very similar in the US and the UK,' he said. 'I think there's grounds for an investigation to the impact of the prescriptive prescribing rates in the States.'
A recent BBC investigation suggested that at least 196,000 adults were on NHS waiting lists for ADHD assessments.But researchers said that greater awareness of the condition might also mean that young people are now using the term ADHD as 'language of distress', to signal they are struggling, even though they do not have the condition.
Prof Phillip Shaw, director of the King's Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People at King's, said: 'There's both an increased recognition and less stigma around ADHD, which means that people are increasingly coming forward for assessment.
'My hunch is that there's such a huge awareness of ADHD that it's often used as a language of distress.
'It's sometimes used, I suspect, by young people who are expressing that they are struggling, particularly at school, and need help.'
This study was funded by NHS England and was conducted by the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response.
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