New Study Reveals Increase in Cases of ADHD in US Children

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been the most common mental disorder diagnosis amongst children in the U.S. Just recently, a new study showed no difference as cases of it are even increasing.

The mental disorder, which makes kids hyperactive, restless and demanding for attention, may interfere with their normal daily activities. It has become a norm in society that boys are the ones commonly get affected by the disorder. However, the new study revealed that the number of ADHD cases amongst girls are surprisingly spiking. The unexpected surge of the mental health issue could be very alarming for parents.

"We could speculate that among females there may be a greater recognition of symptoms that in the past wouldn't have been recognized," Dr. Sean D. Cleary stated. He added that female kids who have ADHD may show different way of "verbal aggression" compared to males, as reported by Health Line.

The study, which was published on the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry on Tuesday, stated that the occurrence of the mental disorder in children from ages five to 17 increased from 8.4 percent to 12 percent. This means that, in every eight kids and young adults in the US, one is affected by the disorder. The percentage suggested that there are about 5.8 million children in the country that are now being diagnosed with the psychological disorder, as reported by CBS News.

Although there are varying increase of the disorder from different socioeconomic statuses, ethnicity and gender, the research revealed that the sudden surge of ADHD cases is among Hispanic children. The study was based on records between 2003 and 2011.

Cleary, who is an expert at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, stated in the report that the study was done to "update the data to have the most recent information on trends ADHD," since not much investigation has been done on "racial and ethnic disparities in ADHD." He co-wrote the journal with Kevin P. Collins of Mathematica Policy Research.

Washington Post shared that Cleary is also not sure why there is a sudden increase among girls affected by the disorder. However, he explained that "People are recognizing that there are different types of symptoms in females so they may be more likely to be brought in and diagnosed than in the past."

The figures shown in the research were based on the number of ADHD cases reported by the parents who was informed by the physician that their kid had the mental disorder.