The prevalence of ADHD among primary school children in an Arabian society.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to identify Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders among primary school children in the State of Qatar.


METHODS
A cross-sectional descriptive study is conducted from March 2004 to February 2005. A total of 2,000 primary school students, ages 6 to 12, are selected, and 1,541 students (77.1%) give consent to participate in this study. An Arabic questionnaire is used to collect the sociodemographic variables and a standardized Arabic version of the Conners' Classroom Rating Scale for ADHD symptoms. Of the students surveyed, 51.7% are males and 48.3% females.


RESULTS
The data reveal that 112 boys (14.1%) and 33 girls (4.4%) scored above the cutoff for ADHD symptoms, thus giving an overall prevalence of 9.4%. Children who have a higher score for ADHD symptoms have school performance poorer than those with lower scores (p = .003).


CONCLUSIONS
The study reveals that ADHD is found to be a common problem among school children in Qatar.
Bener
Abdulbari
A
Hamad Medical Corporation, The University of Manchester, UK. abener@hmc.org.qa
Qahtani
Razna Al
RA
Abdelaal
Ibrahim
I
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011780:Qatar / Q000453:epidemiology