While incidence has remained flat for adolescents since 2018, there has been an uptick for adults since 2020
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — There have been recent fluctuations in the incidence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among U.S. adolescents and adults, according to a study published online Jan. 13 in Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice.
Margaret L. Paul, from Saint Louis University, and colleagues sought to understand the incidence of and recent trends in new ADHD diagnoses among adolescents and adults between 2016 and 2023. The analysis included patient charts from 144,103 adolescents and adult patients seen in a single health system.
The researchers found that for adults, there was a significant (−10.6 percent) downward trend in ADHD incidence from 2016 to 2020 but a significant (+15.2 percent) upward trend from 2020 to 2023. A significant (−26.1 percent) downward trend was observed for adolescents between 2016 and 2018, followed by a stable incidence rate from 2018 to 2023.
“Advancing our understanding of diagnostic trends in clinical practice promotes accurate diagnosis and improved management of ADHD,” the authors write. “Study findings support future investigation in identifying potential modifiable risk factors, ensuring sufficient treatment resources, developing targeted interventions, and addressing diagnostic disparities.”
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