ADHD in Children in the United States

Audiologists sometimes see patients who also present with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Reuben and Elgaddal (2024) reported the percentage of children in the United States who had ever received a diagnosis of ADHD.

These authors used data from the 2020–2022 National Health Interview Survey. Respondents were considered to have a diagnosis if they answered the following question affirmatively: “Has a doctor or health professional ever told you that [sample child] had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD or attention-deficit disorder or ADD?” These authors found that just over 11 percent of children between the ages of 5–17 years had received a diagnosis.

Reuben and Elgaddal (2024) also used this data to explore the percentage of children who received a diagnosis of ADHD by age category (5–11 years versus 12–17 years), sex, race and Hispanic origin, family income, and health insurance coverage.

Readers can access the full report here for these details.

Reference

Reuben C, Elgaddal N. (2024) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children ages 5–17 years: United States, 2020–2022. NCHS Data Brief, no 499..