A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said about 5 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 17 are diagnosed with ADHD, a neurobehavioral developmental disorder.
CDC analysed data from the parents of almost 23,000 children aged 6-17 from 2004 to 2006. The results found that ADHD diagnoses were twice as common among boys as girls. ADHD was also more common among adolescents and teens than younger kids and among whites or African-American children than among Hispanic children.
As of 2006, a total of 4.5 million school-aged children aged 5 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD, the CDC said, adding that there has been a 3 percent average annual increase in childhood ADHD diagnoses from 1997 to 2006.
The researchers did not found why older children were being diagnosed at a higher rate than younger children, but suggested it may be that older children had more chances of being evaluated and diagnosed than younger children.
ADHD is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity, as well as forgetfulness, poor impulse control or impulsivity, and distractibility. Social and economic factors, including access to health care, may affect the chances that a child's ADHD would get an official ADHD diagnosis.
The condition can be treated with various drugs like Ritalin, or methylphenidate, a stimulant that helps lower impulsiveness and hyperactivity and boost attention.
