Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an overdiagnosed disorder in children and adolescents.
- Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the expression of symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
- This pathology is readily associated with other problems: learning disabilities or psychiatric disorders.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD) is a fashionable disease that parents and pediatricians alike tend to throw around. However, a new JAMA study demonstrates that this pathology is overdiagnosed in children and adolescents. “ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and adolescents. write the researchers. Excluding, and in particular “For people with milder symptoms, the harms associated with an ADHD diagnosis can often outweigh the benefits,” they lament.
334 studies synthesized
To reach these conclusions, the results of 334 studies on attention deficit disorder were put into perspective. 45 studies found an increase in ADHD diagnoses. Twenty-five trials showed that these additional cases may be at the milder end of the ADHD spectrum, and 83 trials pointed to increasing pharmacological treatment of ADHD.
“Studies of the long-term benefits and harms of diagnosing and treating ADHD in young people with milder or borderline symptoms are needed,” say scientists.
Only 0.3% of French children have ADHD
According to a French study published in October 2020, only 0.3% of French children suffer from attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD), a figure far removed from that of the United States, where 9% of young people would be victims of this health problem, described by certain specialists as a real “epidemic”.
“Despite decades of research, there is currently no biological marker or test to identify or confirm the diagnosis of hyperactivity. The prevalence of hyperactivity/ADHD is therefore the subject of intense debate at the international level”, wrote last year Sébastien Ponnou, author of the study, psychoanalyst and lecturer at the University of Rouen-Normandy.“In France, the only study available points to a prevalence rate of ADHD of 3.5 to 5.6% of children aged 6 to 12 years. The authors also estimate that 3.48% of 6 to 12 year olds are treated with psychostimulant. Our article is based on the data of the Health insurance to discuss these results”, explained the specialist.
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