Latest news with #neurodevelopmentaldisorder
The Independent
04-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
ADHD diagnoses haven't increased ‘that much' despite more seeking an assessment
The number of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)"probably isn't increasing that much", researchers have suggested, despite a "marked uptick" in people seeking assessment for the condition. Experts said that while there has been a rise in people being diagnosed with ADHD in the UK, the exact number is "still probably lower than the best estimates" of the true number who have the condition. An increase in patients seeking assessments could possibly be down to greater awareness and less stigma, or disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers also suggest spending a lot of time online could be creating a "distracted generation", but that it is too early to draw conclusions. And while there is a link between social media and ADHD symptoms it is unclear "what's driving what". ADHD assessments are reported to be increasingly in demand, researchers said, which is putting a strain on health and education systems across the world. People with the neuro-developmental disorder may have trouble concentrating or sitting still, while other symptoms include being easily distracted, forgetfulness, finding it hard to follow instructions or organise time, and making impulsive decisions. Earlier this month, NHS England estimated for the first time that 2,498,000 people in England may have ADHD, which includes those without a diagnosis. Of the total, an estimated 741,000 are children and young people aged five to 24. And more than half a million people (549,000) were waiting for an ADHD assessment at the end of March 2025, up from 416,000 a year earlier, according to figures. The study, led by King's College London, aimed to update reviews on ADHD prevalence by examining global research from 2020 onwards. Academics looked at more than 9,000 studies, with 40 from across 17 different countries - one of which included data from 42 countries - included in the final analysis. Professor Philip Shaw, director of the King's Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People at KCL's institute of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, said: "It seems that our best evidence suggests that the true rate of ADHD probably isn't increasing that much. "However, it's absolutely crystal clear that there is an increase in the number of people who are being clinically recognised or diagnosed as having ADHD in the United Kingdom. "However, I will note that that rate is still probably lower than the best estimates we have of the rate of true ADHD in the population." Dr Alex Martin, a lecturer in psychology and pandemic preparedness at KCL's institute of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, added: "What we did find was that ADHD prevalence in adults and children has remained largely stable since 2020." She said that some data being published is "very much out of date", adding: "This causes problems for healthcare policy makers internationally and means that services which are already under pressure may encounter increased demand without receiving additional support. According to Prof Shaw, the health service is "playing catch-up" when it comes to ADHD, which he said could explain "a marked uptick in the numbers of people seeking assessment". Edmund Sonuga-Barke, a professor of developmental psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience at KCL, added there has been "chronic under-recognition" in the history of ADHD, especially for certain groups and in particular women and girls. "So part of the increase in diagnosis we've seen over the last 10 or so years is really a resetting or a recalibration, or a catch-up," he said. Prof Shaw added: "When I was at medical school and training as a psychiatrist, there was actually very little recognition of ADHD, particularly in young people and adults. "Of course, there's both an increased recognition and - very welcome - less stigma around ADHD, which means that people are increasingly coming forward for assessment, and while we're working through that backlog, there are simply going to be long waiting lists." Some other possibilities which Prof Shaw described as "somewhat less likely" include a change in the threshold of how doctors diagnose ADHD and a shift in the understanding of the condition by children and young people. He added that his "hunch" is that the "huge awareness" of ADHD is "that it's often used as a language of distress". "It's sometimes used, I suspect, the way that children and young people are expressing that they are struggling, particularly at school, and need help," he said "And of course, when a child is having problems that are impacting their life in a sustained way, they deserve a full mental health assessment. "Even if the final diagnosis doesn't end up being ADHD, we may often, for example, find that this child is struggling with a problem with mood or anxiety." Other societal issues could be driving the increase in assessments, including the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the use of social media. Prof Shaw said: "Many of the skills of learning that kids have, how to focus, how to plan, how to organise themselves, has completely throw them out the loop for about two or three years, and this may well play a part in the uptick in the awareness and seeking of help for symptoms of inattention in particular. "Many also point to a possible role for social media and the impacts it might be having on the developing brain. "Now, for ADHD, there's a great degree of interest in the possibility that what's going on, is that the constant dividing of attention and multitasking online is creating, if you like, a distracted generation. "We know there's an association between social media use and some symptoms of ADHD, but we don't know what's driving what, we don't know what's the chicken and what's the egg." Prof Shaw said he has been "struck" by some of his group's research findings into how "variable" ADHD can be. He suggests ADHD "is a dynamic challenge that changes with age". Prof Sonuga-Barke added: "I think the discovery that ADHD is a continuous risk dimension and not a fixed, natural category with clear biological boundaries may help explain why diagnostic rates are sensitive to changes in cultural values and beliefs, and clinical practices, and environmental risk exposures."
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Nearly 2.5 million living with ADHD, NHS claims
Almost 2.5 million people in England have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to the first estimates by the NHS. That means about one in every 23 people across the country has the neurodevelopmental disorder, some living without a diagnosis. It is the first time the health service has made such an estimate public. People with ADHD may have trouble concentrating or sitting still. Other symptoms include being easily distracted, forgetfulness, finding it hard to follow instructions or organise time, and making impulsive decisions. Demand for a diagnosis has soared by more than 400 per cent since the pandemic, figures from the ADHD Foundation previously suggested. The lockdowns fuelled a near-doubling in the number of prescriptions for ADHD medicines, according to a study published earlier this year in the BMJ Mental Health journal. Researchers found that prescriptions per 1,000 people in England had risen from 25.17 in 2019-20 to 41.55 in 2023-24. The new estimates from NHS England also say 741,000 children or young adults aged between five and 24 have ADHD. The figures were developed using estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) that suggest around 3 to 4 per cent of adults and 5 per cent of children and young people have ADHD. The NHS data suggests some 1.7 million are currently living without a diagnosis, although it does not capture anyone who has been diagnosed and treated privately, unless this has been added to their NHS GP record. While ADHD is not usually diagnosed in children under five – as some traits can be part of a child's normal development – estimated prevalence in youngsters aged four and under has been calculated to give an insight into how many may go on to be diagnosed. The estimates suggest that some 147,000 under-fives are likely to have ADHD. The new figures also suggest more than half a million people were waiting for an ADHD assessment at the end of March at 549,000, up from 416,000 a year earlier. Around two thirds of them were aged between five and 24. Experts have warned that the increase in cases may be in part down to the pandemic and changes to daily life and stress. They have also said there is an increasing awareness of ADHD, including via social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, which is likely to be encouraging more people to seek diagnosis and treatment. Benefits claims soaring However, officials are also concerned at the surge in benefit claims from people based on mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions. Advice from ADHD 'sickfluencers' on social media has coincided with a sharp rise in the number of people claiming up to £69,000 a year through the Access to Work scheme – which can be used on equipment and support, including work coaches, noise-cancelling headphones and Apple smartwatches. The total spent on the scheme increased to £258 million in the last financial year, up 40 per cent from 2022-23. Around a third of all demand is now driven by people claiming financial support for mental health conditions, up from just 5 per cent a decade ago. Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said the figures were 'a first step in understanding the scale of demand for ADHD care'. 'Our new research highlights that many people with ADHD may simply be going without support,' she said. 'Long waits for assessments are one of the reasons people who show ADHD traits don't seek help, while those waiting for an assessment struggle to navigate the long waits.' Ms Ansari added that there was still 'a way to go to ensure data is comprehensive and robust'. She called for the ADHD figures to be added to official waiting list data, to 'give a clearer picture of waiting times, including who is experiencing the longest waits and why'.
Forbes
07-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
A Psychologist Reveals The Leading Cause Of Autism (Hint: It's Not Vaccines)
Don't let RFK Jr. fool you: autism isn't new, and it isn't a 'rising epidemic' either. Here's the ... More truth, according to actual scientific research. getty According to a recent surveillance summary by the CDC , the prevalence of autism has risen significantly amongst children aged eight years old. This statistic has sparked concern, curiosity and unfortunately, a resurgence of outdated and inaccurate theories about the causes of autism. Yet, despite what headlines, internet echo chambers and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may tell you, this rise does not point to an inexplicable spike in the number of people being born with autism. Nor does it point to an increase in children 'becoming autistic.' The reality of this statistic is far more promising: mental health professionals are simply getting better at identifying autism early on. Thanks to continual rigorous psychological research, we know much more about autism today than we did just a few years ago. Here's what we know about its prevalence and causes — and what we can definitively rule out. As defined in the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 , autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized most commonly by deficits in social communication. Individuals with ASD may also exhibit restricted and repetitive patterns in their interests, behaviors and preferred activities. However, for decades, both researchers and laypeople alike had incredibly restrictive views on what these symptoms actually looked like. Around 50 years ago, professional diagnoses were generally reserved for children who exhibited the most severe and visible manifestations of the condition. These children were often non-verbal, profoundly delayed in learning or developmental milestones and, in some cases, engaged in self-injurious behaviors. Because of these narrowly defined criteria, mental health professionals at the time believed autism affected fewer than 1% of children — roughly one in 2,500. Today, however, autism is estimated to affect about 3% of children — one in every 36. At face value, this rise in prevalence might seem intuitively alarming; some individuals have even begun to suggest that autism is becoming something of an 'epidemic.' But claims like these are largely fallacious. In reality, what we're really seeing is a well-overdue shift in how professionals understand and identify autism. Mental health experts now recognize that autism rarely presents in a single prototypical way. Individuals' symptoms can vary widely in terms of behaviors, strengths, challenges, communication styles, sensory sensitivities and the degree to which these traits impact their day-to-day life and functioning. This is why, today, autism is understood as a spectrum disorder — because no two individuals experience it in the exact same way. And, as the CDC explains in their surveillance summary, 'Differences in prevalence over time and across sites can reflect differing practices in ASD evaluation and identification and availability and requirements that affect accessibility of services.' In other words, this increase in incidence reflects our growing ability as a society to recognize and diagnose neurodivergence more accurately and inclusively. That is, it should not be taken as a sign that there's something causing more children to 'get' autism. In fact, we already know what causes autism: genetics. This understanding is supported by decades of research, led by a pioneering twin study published in Psychological Medicine in 1995. In said study, researchers found that if one identical twin had autism, there was a 60% to 90% chance that the other twin would show signs of ASD, too. Among fraternal twins, that concordance dropped significantly — to between 0% and 30%. Since then, even more recent studies have identified a range of genes associated with the development of autism, which have further reinforced the role of heritability in its onset. Conspiracies And Misinformation Regarding Autism Almost all of the public distrust surrounding autism's cause can be traced back to a single, now-infamous study published in The Lancet in 1998. In this paper, British physician Andrew Wakefield falsely claimed there was a link between the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine and the onset of autism. Not only was this study completely unfounded, but it was also downright fraudulent, according to the Journal of Medical Regulation . The study was based on a miniscule sample of just 12 children, and Wakefield deliberately selected data to fit his predetermined narrative. He also conducted invasive (and wildly unnecessary) medical procedures on children without proper ethical approval. As if it couldn't get any worse, he also failed to disclose not one, but two major conflicts of interests. These included a financial tie (more than £400,000) to a group pursuing litigation against vaccine manufacturers, as well as his self-made 'diagnostic kit' for a non-existent 'form' of autism. The latter conflict, in particular, offered him an even heftier opportunity for profit — as hefty as $43 million. After years of scrutiny, the paper was formally retracted by The Lancet in 2010, and Wakefield was stripped of his medical license. The General Medical Council described his conduct as dishonest and irresponsible. Today, Wakefield is a staunch anti-vaccination activist, and has since been described as 'one of the most serious frauds in medical history.' Yet, despite its retraction and the utter lack of credible evidence behind it, many people continue to believe that vaccines can cause autism. In the years since, more baseless claims have followed: that autism is caused by poor parenting, artificial food additives, toxins or environmental exposures. But none of these theories hold up under scientific scrutiny. To say claims like these are flagrantly erroneous would be an understatement. Asserting that such factors cause autism is as absurd as saying ice cream causes shark attacks. It sounds ridiculous, and it is — because there's a major logical fallacy underpinning this argument: the conflation of correlation with causation. Ice cream sales tend to rise during the summer months, as do shark attacks. But we know it would be egregious to think that it's the ice cream drawing sharks to the shore. There's an obvious missing variable at play: the weather. Warmer weather leads more people to buy ice cream and swim in the ocean. The relationship between ice cream and shark attacks is purely coincidental. Yet, the same flawed logic is thoughtlessly accepted in the argument that vaccines cause autism. Vaccines are, for good reason, routinely administered in early childhood — right around the same time that signs of autism most often become noticeable. But timing does not equal causation. To insist that one causes the other is to ignore decades of research, as well as to overlook the simplest and most scientifically supported explanation: that autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with strong genetic underpinnings. It is not caused by vaccines, parenting styles or anything else external. People on the autism spectrum have always existed — long before we had a name for the condition or diagnostic criteria to identify it — and they always will. The incidence of autism hasn't changed at all. Our ability to recognize and understand it has, and this is not something you need to fear. If anything, it's something to be incredibly thankful for. The perceived increase in the development of autism is but one of many psychological misconceptions. How many others have you been misled to believe? Take this science-backed test to find out: Psychological Misconception Questionnaire
