title: The prevalence of ADHD among primary school children in an Arabian society.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Hamad Medical Corporation, The University of Manchester, UK. abener@hmc.org.qa
authors.forename: Abdulbari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bener
authors.forename: Razna Al
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Qahtani
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abdelaal
mesh_terms: 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