Diving into Diagnosis: ADHD in America's Children

DIVING INTO THE DIAGNOSIS ADHD IN AMERICA'S CHILDREN 1. HYPERACTIVITY 2. are traits found in many children. INATTENTION 3. IMPULSIVITY These traits are also indicators for ADHD, the most commonly diagnosed neurological disorder in children. BUT HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW? Because rates of ADHD are rapidly increasing, over-diagnosis of this disorder has become a bone of contention. Rates of ADHD diagnosis have increased an average of 5 percent per year from 2003 – 2011 less than 7% 7%-9% 9%-11% 11%-13% greater than 13% 2003 2007 2011 11 PERCENT of children ages 4-17 are diagnosed. MORE THAN 10,000 AMERICAN CHILDREN ages 2 to 3 are being medicated for ADHD AGAINST PEDIATRIC GUIDELINES. BUT HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW? What Are Causes Behind This Increase? LOWERED UNDUE PRESSURE THRESHOLD for ADHD by DSM-IV to diagnose ADHD so which prompted an that a child can receive unreal epidemic. benefits. l. SOCIETAL OVER- FACTORS PROMOTION which reduced tolerance by marketing of for a child's range of pharmaceutical behavior. companies. Studies estimate that 14-38 percent of ADHD cases are actually OVER-DIAGNOSES. ARE YOUR CHILDREN BEING OVER-DIAGNOSED? Is There A Solution? Recent research shows that BIOMARKERS have the potential to help take the guesswork out of ADHD diagnosis. Biomarker findings have shown that many individuals with ADHD experience SIMILAR FRONTAL LOBE ABNORMALITIES: DIFFERENCES IN REDUCED METABOLIC ACTIVATION ACTIVITY DECREASED FRONTAL LOBE VOLUME REDUCED BLOOD FLOW CHANGES IN ELECTRICAL O ACTIVITY (EEG) Children who have ADHD-like traits but do not have ADHD are less likely to have frontal lobe abnormalities such as changes in EEG. NOW YOU KNOW. A biomarker could be used to reduce over-diagnosis. A validated biomarker test can help to determine whether the child has ADHD or something else. In other words, there's much less guesswork in ADHD diagnosis. Sources: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 53: 34-46. 2014 Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 54: 492-4 Journal of Health Economics. 29: 641-56. 2010 Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. 23: 25-9. 2011 Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology. 80: 128-38. 2012 European Journal of Paediatric Neurology. 16: 422-33. 2012 Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 17: 385-404. 2008 FDA.gov |neba K112711. 2013. HEAL TH MRK0088/2014.11.02