Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – Diagnosis and prescriptions for ADHD have rapidly risen in the past 20 years except for children below the age of 5 according to a University College London (UCL).
A study published in BJPsych Open examined information from a UK primary care database called IQVIA Medical Research Data. The data encompassed a vast population of 7 million individuals ranging from 3 to 99 years of age. The study period spanned from 2000 to 2018.
Within this dataset, 35,877 individuals were diagnosed with ADHD, while 18,518 received prescriptions for ADHD medication from their general practitioners (GPs).
The research revealed that the number of people receiving medication for ADHD remained relatively low. However, it also indicated that ADHD was more frequently diagnosed in children compared to adults. Additionally, the study found that boys had a higher prevalence of ADHD than girls and women.
The study findings indicated notable increases in ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions, particularly in specific age groups. Among boys aged 10-16 years, the absolute increase was significant, with 1.4 percent having an ADHD diagnosis and 0.6% receiving ADHD medication in 2000. These numbers increased to 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, by 2018.
However, the relative increase was more substantial among adults. For instance, during the same time frame, there was approximately a twenty-fold rise in ADHD diagnoses and nearly a fifty-fold increase in ADHD prescriptions among men aged 18-29, going from 0.01 percent to 0.56 percent.
Dr Doug McKechnie the lead author, from UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, says “ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions for ADHD medication by a GP have become more common over time.”
The study solely focused on ADHD medication prescriptions within primary care settings of the NHS, omitting data from secondary care. Consequently, this approach may have underestimated the overall incidence and prevalence of medication usage for ADHD.
