Suicide rate in U.S. on the rise, with spike for girls age 10-14

BY LAURA SANTHANAM  April 22, 2016 at 12:01 AM EDT

Nationwide, the suicide rate is on the rise, and the Great Recession may be partially to blame.

After more than a decade of decline, the suicide rate in the United States climbed 24 percent to 13 out of 100,000 people between 1999 and 2014 with men far outpacing women, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Starting in 2006, that rate climbed even faster.

“It’s a broad-based increase in suicide,” said Sally Curtin, a statistician with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one of the report’s main authors.

All age groups younger than 75 saw a rise in suicide since 1999, the report says.

While the numbers remain small, the suicide rate among girls age 10-14 tripled from 1999 to 2014 and experienced the largest percent increase. That finding surprised Curtin, who explained that deaths are just one element to consider when studying suicide.

“For that group, the deaths are just the tip of the iceberg,” Curtin said. “There are so many more attempts and hospitalizations.”

According to CDC’s data, suicide attempts among 10- to 14-year-olds rose 135 percent between 2001 and 2014, said Deb Stone, a behavioral scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When examining suicide rate by race, researchers found the steepest rise among American Indian and Alaskan Natives, according to a newly released supplemental brief.

Risk factors included mental health problems, substance abuse, availability of lethal means, and exposure to another’s suicide, or contagion effect, Stone said.

Despite rising rates, Stone said, “We know that suicide is a preventable public health problem.”

She stressed that schools, workplaces and healthcare settings all can play a role in suicide prevention. These strategies might include: Educating people about suicide risk factors, decreasing stigma and reducing the availability of lethal means to people who are at-risk.​

She also recommended that if someone needs help, they should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 where around-the-clock counselors are available.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/178414/

______________________________

98 children aged 10-14 have killed themselves in last decade

ONS includes deaths of children under 15 for first time in its suicide figures, which also show rise in female suicides in England

Nearly 100 children aged 10 to 14 killed themselves in the UK in the past decade, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Charities said the numbers were a “national scandal”. The records show 98 children under 15 killed themselves in the UK from 2005 to 2014, 59 boys and 39 girls.

For the first time the ONS included in its research on UK suicides the deaths from intentional self-harm of 10- to 14-year-old children as well as those of people aged 15 and over. Children under 10 are not recognised in suicide figures and therefore not included.

Ged Flynn, the chief executive of the charity Papyrus, which is dedicated to the prevention of suicide among young people, told the Press Association: “We have ‘hidden’ the fact that children and young people die this way because it is so flipping painful for us.

“It is painful and toxic to think about it, so we hide it and hope it goes away. Today we can see it is not going away. It is a national scandal and we have to talk about it.”

He said experts had known for some time that depression started for some at an early age, and there were a “plethora of reasons” why children took their own lives. He said children felt “trapped or ashamed” by whatever was driving their suicidal thoughts.

The NSPCC confirmed there had been a rise in children seeking its help. “Our ChildLine service has seen a huge increase in calls from desperately unhappy children,” a spokesperson said. “Last year more than half of the young people we referred to other agencies were suicidal.”

The figures also show that suicide rates among women in England rose in 2014 to their highest in a decade despite a drop in the overall number of UK suicides.

There were 4,882 suicides among people aged 10 and over in England in 2014, 155 more than in 2013 – a 3% increase. Of these, more than three-quarters (76%) were male (3,701 male and 1,181 female).

The increase was driven by the rise in the number of female suicides, with 14% more in England in 2014 than in 2013. It is the highest rate for female suicides since 2005. Across the UK, 113 more women died by suicide in 2014 than in the previous year.

In contrast, male suicide rates have remained stable. In recent years there has been an increase in suicide prevention strategies and support targeted at men in an effort to counteract the high rates of male suicide. According to the ONS, the increase in the rate in England in 2014 contrasts with the rest of the UK, with the number of suicides falling in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“It’s of great concern to see an indication of an increase in female suicide,” said Ruth Sutherland, the chief executive of Samaritans. “Samaritans’ goal is that fewer people die by suicide and these figures help us to be more targeted in our work and reinforce the need for all agencies, the police, prisons, schools and NHS to work together to reduce death by suicide.”

Overall, there were 6,122 suicides in the UK in 2014, 120 fewer than in 2013 – a 2% decrease. The male suicide rate was more than three times higher than the female rate, with 16.8 male deaths per 100,000 compared with 5.2 female deaths.

The highest suicide rate in the UK in 2014 was among men aged 45 to 59, at 23.9 deaths per 100,000, slightly lower than the record high seen in 2013. This age group also had the highest rate among women, at 7.3 deaths per 100,000. Since 2007, the rate in the 45 to 59 age group has been increasing. Men aged 30 to 44 had the second highest suicide rate, at 21.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2014.

Between 1981 and 2005, Scotland had the highest suicide rate. In 2005, the rate in Northern Ireland showed a large increase and took over with the most instances of suicide. Since then, the highest rate has varied between the two, with England having the lowest rate until 2014 when it rose above that seen in Wales.

Broken down by region, the ONS figures revealed that the highest suicide rate in England was in the north-east, which in 2014 had 13.2 deaths per 100,000 population. London had the lowest at 7.8 per 100,000.

The was a sharp drop in suicides in Wales. In 2014, there were 247 suicides in people aged 10 and over (199 male, 48 female suicides) – a decrease of 146 deaths since 2013. The ONS said the drop in the suicide rate from 14.7 deaths per 100,000 population to 9.2 deaths per 100,000 population – a 37% decrease – was the lowest suicide rate observed since the beginning its time series in 1981.

The male suicide rate in Wales was significantly higher than the rate in England between 2010 and 2013. However, the sharp fall in the suicide rate in Wales in 2014, means that the Welsh suicide rate is now lower than in England.

The female suicide rate in Wales was slightly higher than in England between 2010 and 2013, but was lower than that seen in England in 2014.

“In 2014, there was a lot of activity surrounding the consultation on the new “Talk To Me 2” Welsh suicide prevention strategy which may have had a positive effect in reducing the number of suicides in Wales,” said the ONS. “However, it is too soon to tell if the sharp fall in the suicide rate in Wales in 2014 is the start of a downward trend or simply a large annual fluctuation.”

The ONS warned that analysis of when the deaths occurred suggests the decrease may not be as large as it appears: “Not all suicides that occurred in 2014 have been registered yet; however, when late registrations of deaths that occurred in 2013 and 2014 are included in the figures, the drop in the suicide rate between 2013 and 2014 is no longer significant.”

• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/04/female-suicide-rate-in-england-highest-for-a-decade-in-2014-figures-reveal

There's a Startling Increase in Major Depression Among Teens in the U.S.

Susanna Schrobsdorff

Nov 15, 2016

TIME Health

For more, visit TIME Health.

Describing teens as moody and angsty is an old cliche. That stage of life is loaded with drama and intense feelings. And it was ever thus—just go back read your high school diary for evidence. But while anxiety and sadness aren’t new phenomena among adolescents, there’s been a significant increase in the percentage of young people aged 12-20 who have reported having a major depressive episode (MDE).

A study of national trends in depression among adolescents and young adultspublished in the journal Pediatrics on November 14 found that the prevalence of teens who reported an MDE in the previous 12 months jumped from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2014. That’s a 37 percent increase. (An MDE is defined as a period of at least two weeks of low mood that is present in most situations. Symptoms include low self-esteem, loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities, and problems with sleep, energy and concentration.)

Despite the rise in teen depression, the study, which analyzed data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, reported that there hasn’t a corresponding increase in mental health treatment for adolescents and young adults. Researchers said this is an indication that there is a growing number of young people who are under-treated or not treated at all for their symptoms. Meanwhile, among those who did get help, treatment tended to be more intense, often involving specialized care by in-patient and outpatient providers and including prescription medications. (This may be due in part to increased mental health coverage in the wake of new health care parity laws.)

This information won’t come as a surprise to school counselors and clinicians who’ve seen a rise in depression, anxiety and related incidents of self-harm first hand, as reported in TIME’s Nov. 7th cover story “The Kids Are Not All Right.” The number of kids who are struggling with these issues is staggering. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than three million adolescents aged 12-17 reported at least one major depressive episode in the past year, and more than two million reported severe depression that impeded their daily functioning.

Ellen Chance, co-president of the Palm Beach School Counselor Association, says that in her region “anxiety and depression are affecting kids’ behavior and their ability to learn which can lead to dropping out or home school.” Getting resources to these students is essential for them to function in school. She’s working with the National Alliance for Mental Illness to get more counselors trained to identify mental health disorders, but it’s not easy. Counselors are often responsible for more than 500 kids and have other duties as well, often including administering state tests. In Montana, where major depressive episodes have also spiked, there’s a dearth of trained counselors that can get to all the schools in the sparsely populated state so officials are trying implement tele-counselling programs.

And California’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, tallied more than 5,000 incidents of suicidal behavior last year. That’s huge increase since they began tracking these issues in the 2010-2011 school year, when just 255 incidents were reported. These incidents ranged from expressions of openness to suicide and self-harm, and acts of self-harm. Specific incidents of self-harm, like superficial cutting and burning the skin are usually not attempts at suicide, but the behavior does correlate with a higher risk of suicidal behavior. Studies of self harm are consistent in showing that people who injure themselves do so to cope with anxiety or depression.

Some of the increase in depression in Los Angeles schools may be due to more awareness and improved data collection, but with more than 30 percent of high school students there reporting prolonged feelings of hopelessness and sadness lasting more than two weeks, and 9.1% of middle schoolers and 8.4% of high schoolers in the district actually attempting suicide, the data highlights the need for more mental health resources for young people.

Pia Escudero, L.A. Unified’s director of school mental health crisis counseling and intervention services, reported that kids in her district are at increased risk of depression when faced with adverse conditions such as single parent homes, community violence, sexual violence, economic hardship or cyber bullying. She and her team released a Blueprint for Wellness earlier this year detailing the district’s plan to increase resilience particularly among those at-risk students.

However, depression isn’t just affecting kids facing conditions that have long been associated with poor mental health outcomes. The Pediatrics study whose lead author was Ramin Mojtabai, MD, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, adjusted for those socio-demographic and household factors and concluded that they could not account for the big increase in depression trends. Nor was there a correlation with substance abuse. In fact, there has been little change in rates of substance abuse among teens.

Perhaps the most common risk for depression is being female. According to the department of Health and Human Services, rates of depression among girls ages 12-17 in 2015 were more than double that of boys. (In the U.S., 19.5% of girls experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, while only 5.8% of boys did.) The Pediatrics study researchers suggested that adolescent girls may be more exposed to risk factors. They point to research that indicates that cyber-bullying is far more prevalent among girls than boys. Some studies show that girls use mobile phones with texting applications more frequently and intensively. And, problematic mobile phone use in this age group has been linked to depressed mood.

Counselors like Ellen Chance in Palm Beach say they see evidence that technology and online bullying are affecting kids’ mental health as young as fifth grade, particularly girls. “I couldn’t tell you how many students are being malicious to each other over Instagram. “I’ve had cases where girls don’t to come to school and they are cutting themselves and becoming severely depressed because they feel outcasted and targeted.” She says she now sees cutting incidents pretty much weekly at her elementary school, and while they vary in severity, it’s a signal that not all is right.

The authors of the teen depression trends study concluded that “the growing number of depressed adolescents and young adults who do not receive any mental health treatment of their symptoms calls for renewed outreach efforts, especially in school and college health and counseling services and pediatric practices where many of the untreated adolescents and young adults with depression may be detected and managed.‍”

For budget-crunched schools and municipalities, it’s difficult to fund and deploy more mental health resources. But quantifying the problem is a significant step. To that end, the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending depression screening for all young people ages 11 through 21. Because symptoms of depression are often not recognizable by teachers, parents or even physicians, this move may be key to better identifying kids who are suffering and getting them treatment.

http://time.com/4572593/increase-depression-teens-teenage-mental-health/

ARTÍCULO

Trends in the Parent-Report of Health Care Provider-Diagnosed and Medicated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: United States, 2003–2011

• Susanna N. Visser MS
• , Melissa L. Danielson MSPH
• , Rebecca H. Bitsko PhD
• , Joseph R. Holbrook PhD
• ,Michael D. Kogan PhD
• , Reem M. Ghandour DrPH
• , Ruth Perou PhD
•  y Stephen J. Blumberg PhD

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2014-01-01, Volúmen 53, Número 1, Páginas 34-46.e2, Copyright © 2014

Objective

Data from the 2003 and 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) reflect the increasing prevalence of parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and treatment by health care providers. This report updates these prevalence estimates for 2011 and describes temporal trends.

Method

Weighted analyses were conducted with 2011 NSCH data to estimate prevalence of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis, current ADHD, current medication treatment, ADHD severity, and mean age of diagnosis for U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years and among demographic subgroups. A history of ADHD diagnosis (2003–2011), as well as current ADHD and medication treatment prevalence (2007–2011), were compared using prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

In 2011, 11% of children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had ever received an ADHD diagnosis (6.4 million children). Among those with a history of ADHD diagnosis, 83% were reported as currently having ADHD (8.8%); 69% of children with current ADHD were taking medication for ADHD (6.1%, 3.5 million children). A parent-reported history of ADHD increased by 42% from 2003 to 2011. Prevalence of a history of ADHD, current ADHD, medicated ADHD, and moderate/severe ADHD increased significantly from 2007 estimates. Prevalence of medicated ADHD increased by 28% from 2007 to 2011.

Conclusions

Approximately 2 million more U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had been diagnosed with ADHD in 2011, compared to 2003. More than two-thirds of those with current ADHD were taking medication for treatment in 2011. This suggests an increasing burden of ADHD on the U.S. health care system. Efforts to further understand ADHD diagnostic and treatment patterns are warranted.

___________________________________

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with childhood onset. Children with ADHD experience clinically significant functional impairment across settings (for example at home, in school, and with friends), resulting in higher rates of unintentional injury, emergency room visits, peer problems, and academic failure.  Approximately one-third of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the diagnosis into adulthood, supporting the recognition of ADHD as a chronic health condition. 

Best practices for diagnosing and treating ADHD exist and include conducting a clinical diagnostic evaluation, incorporating information from multiple respondents (e.g., parents, child, teachers, child care staff) and across multiple settings (e.g., home, school, child care), and evaluating the child for co-occurring conditions.  ADHD medication has long been used to effectively treat ADHD symptoms of impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity and is the single-most effective treatment for reducing ADHD symptoms.  High-quality behavioral interventions can also improve functional outcomes of selected children with ADHD  , but may not be as broadly available across the U.S.

Characterizing the evolving epidemiology of ADHD diagnosis and treatment informs the public health impact of diagnosis and treatment within communities, allows tracking changes over time, informs service use and needs, and provides a context for interpreting the impact of health alerts extending from adverse event reporting systems.  Population-based epidemiological estimates of ADHD can come from a variety of sources. Analyses of insurance claims data have documented steady increases in the prevalence of ambulatory visits for ADHD diagnoses between 2001 and 2010  ; however, studies based on claims data are not necessarily representative of the uninsured or underinsured. A recent, large-scale community-based study from 4 school districts across 2 states suggests that the prevalence among elementary-aged children is 9% to 11%  ; a large, national direct assessment of children 13 to 17 years of age suggested that the lifetime prevalence of ADHD among adolescents was 8.7%.  However, direct assessment of children in communities is resource intensive, and it is not an efficient method for monitoring prevalence over time. Large-scale surveys of parents that ask about clinician-diagnosed conditions provide an important cross-sectional picture of the impact of disorders, including ADHD, and can be repeated over time for surveillance purposes. Parent surveys can also be used to estimate both national and state-based prevalence of conditions.

Since 1996, parent reports of health care provider-diagnosed ADHD in childhood have been collected by nationally representative health surveys, beginning with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).  The reports of a diagnosis by a health care provider is a proxy for underlying ADHD, asking parents “Has a doctor or other health care provider ever told you that your child had attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?” This report of an ADHD diagnosis was included in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), which is a periodic parent survey of the physical and emotional health of US children, 0 to 17 years of age.  Increases in parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and medication treatment have been documented using data from NHIS and NSCH; average annual increases in parent-reported ADHD diagnosis ranged from 3% to 6% per year since the late 1990s. 

Based on data from the 2007 NSCH, an estimated 9.5% of children/adolescents 4 to 17 years of age had been diagnosed with ADHD; 78% of those children were characterized by their parents as having current ADHD, representing 7.2% (4.1 million) of school-aged children.  The estimated prevalence increased by 22% from 2003 to 2007, with an average annual increase of 5.5% per year from 2003 to 2007. Increases in prevalence were greatest among groups with historically lower rates of ADHD: older teens, Hispanics, and children who spoke a primary language other than English. Two-thirds of those with current ADHD were taking medication in 2007. ADHD medication treatment increased with ADHD severity. Nearly 1 in 20 (4.8%) of U.S. children/adolescents 4 to 17 years of age (2.7 million individuals) were taking ADHD medication in 2007, which is consistent with a 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey estimate of 5.1% among children 6 to 12 years of age. 

Data from the most recent NSCH allow updated estimates of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and treatment, as well as inspection of trends in these estimates over time. Based on previous reports, average annual growth rates of 3% to 6% for parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and a commensurate increase in parent-reported ADHD medication treatment were expected.

______________________________

Fuente: https://www.clinicalkey.es/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S0890856713005947?returnurl=http:%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0890856713005947%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&referrer=http:%2F%2Fwww.jaacap.com%2Farticle%2FS0890-8567%252813%252900594-7%2Fabstract

Consultado el 31/07/2017

Trends in the Parent-Report of Health Care Provider-Diagnosed and Medicated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: United States, 2003–2011

https://www.clinicalkey.es/#!/content/playContent/1-s2.0-S0890856713005947?returnurl=http:%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0890856713005947%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&referrer=http:%2F%2Fwww.jaacap.com%2Farticle%2FS0890-8567%252813%252900594-7%2Fabstract


Abstract

Objective

Data from the 2003 and 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) reflect the increasing prevalence of parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and treatment by health care providers. This report updates these prevalence estimates for 2011 and describes temporal trends.

Method

Weighted analyses were conducted with 2011 NSCH data to estimate prevalence of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis, current ADHD, current medication treatment, ADHD severity, and mean age of diagnosis for U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years and among demographic subgroups. A history of ADHD diagnosis (2003–2011), as well as current ADHD and medication treatment prevalence (2007–2011), were compared using prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

In 2011, 11% of children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had ever received an ADHD diagnosis (6.4 million children). Among those with a history of ADHD diagnosis, 83% were reported as currently having ADHD (8.8%); 69% of children with current ADHD were taking medication for ADHD (6.1%, 3.5 million children). A parent-reported history of ADHD increased by 42% from 2003 to 2011. Prevalence of a history of ADHD, current ADHD, medicated ADHD, and moderate/severe ADHD increased significantly from 2007 estimates. Prevalence of medicated ADHD increased by 28% from 2007 to 2011.

Conclusions

Approximately 2 million more U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had been diagnosed with ADHD in 2011, compared to 2003. More than two-thirds of those with current ADHD were taking medication for treatment in 2011. This suggests an increasing burden of ADHD on the U.S. health care system. Efforts to further understand ADHD diagnostic and treatment patterns are warranted.

................................

This article is discussed in an editorial by Dr. John T. Walkup on page 14.

Clinical guidance is available at the end of this article.

An interview with the authors is available by podcast at www.jaacap.org or by scanning the QR code to the right.

Ms. Danielson served as the statistical expert for this research.

Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The National Survey of Children’s Health is a module of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey and was sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Disclosure: Drs. Bitsko, Holbrook, Kogan, Ghandour, Perou, and Blumberg, and Ms. Visser and Ms. Danielson report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

...................................

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ARTÍCULO

Trends in the Parent-Report of Health Care Provider-Diagnosed and Medicated Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: United States, 2003–2011  RSS  Descargar PDF

• Susanna N. Visser MS
• , Melissa L. Danielson MSPH
• , Rebecca H. Bitsko PhD
• , Joseph R. Holbrook PhD
• ,Michael D. Kogan PhD
• , Reem M. Ghandour DrPH
• , Ruth Perou PhD
•  y Stephen J. Blumberg PhD

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2014-01-01, Volúmen 53, Número 1, Páginas 34-46.e2, Copyright © 2014

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with childhood onset. Children with ADHD experience clinically significant functional impairment across settings (for example at home, in school, and with friends), resulting in higher rates of unintentional injury, emergency room visits, peer problems, and academic failure.  Approximately one-third of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the diagnosis into adulthood, supporting the recognition of ADHD as a chronic health condition. 

Best practices for diagnosing and treating ADHD exist and include conducting a clinical diagnostic evaluation, incorporating information from multiple respondents (e.g., parents, child, teachers, child care staff) and across multiple settings (e.g., home, school, child care), and evaluating the child for co-occurring conditions.  ADHD medication has long been used to effectively treat ADHD symptoms of impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity and is the single-most effective treatment for reducing ADHD symptoms.  High-quality behavioral interventions can also improve functional outcomes of selected children with ADHD  , but may not be as broadly available across the U.S.

Characterizing the evolving epidemiology of ADHD diagnosis and treatment informs the public health impact of diagnosis and treatment within communities, allows tracking changes over time, informs service use and needs, and provides a context for interpreting the impact of health alerts extending from adverse event reporting systems.  Population-based epidemiological estimates of ADHD can come from a variety of sources. Analyses of insurance claims data have documented steady increases in the prevalence of ambulatory visits for ADHD diagnoses between 2001 and 2010  ; however, studies based on claims data are not necessarily representative of the uninsured or underinsured. A recent, large-scale community-based study from 4 school districts across 2 states suggests that the prevalence among elementary-aged children is 9% to 11%  ; a large, national direct assessment of children 13 to 17 years of age suggested that the lifetime prevalence of ADHD among adolescents was 8.7%.  However, direct assessment of children in communities is resource intensive, and it is not an efficient method for monitoring prevalence over time. Large-scale surveys of parents that ask about clinician-diagnosed conditions provide an important cross-sectional picture of the impact of disorders, including ADHD, and can be repeated over time for surveillance purposes. Parent surveys can also be used to estimate both national and state-based prevalence of conditions.

Since 1996, parent reports of health care provider-diagnosed ADHD in childhood have been collected by nationally representative health surveys, beginning with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).  The reports of a diagnosis by a health care provider is a proxy for underlying ADHD, asking parents “Has a doctor or other health care provider ever told you that your child had attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?” This report of an ADHD diagnosis was included in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), which is a periodic parent survey of the physical and emotional health of US children, 0 to 17 years of age.  Increases in parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and medication treatment have been documented using data from NHIS and NSCH; average annual increases in parent-reported ADHD diagnosis ranged from 3% to 6% per year since the late 1990s. 

Based on data from the 2007 NSCH, an estimated 9.5% of children/adolescents 4 to 17 years of age had been diagnosed with ADHD; 78% of those children were characterized by their parents as having current ADHD, representing 7.2% (4.1 million) of school-aged children.  The estimated prevalence increased by 22% from 2003 to 2007, with an average annual increase of 5.5% per year from 2003 to 2007. Increases in prevalence were greatest among groups with historically lower rates of ADHD: older teens, Hispanics, and children who spoke a primary language other than English. Two-thirds of those with current ADHD were taking medication in 2007. ADHD medication treatment increased with ADHD severity. Nearly 1 in 20 (4.8%) of U.S. children/adolescents 4 to 17 years of age (2.7 million individuals) were taking ADHD medication in 2007, which is consistent with a 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey estimate of 5.1% among children 6 to 12 years of age. 

Data from the most recent NSCH allow updated estimates of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and treatment, as well as inspection of trends in these estimates over time. Based on previous reports, average annual growth rates of 3% to 6% for parent-reported ADHD diagnosis and a commensurate increase in parent-reported ADHD medication treatment were expected.