title: The prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Iran: A systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. Children with ADHD may experience significant functional problems. Our objective was to examine the prevalence of ADHD and its subtypes in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pubmed, ISI web of science, psychinfo, Iranpsych, Iranmedex, Irandoc were searched. Irandoc, Iranmedex and Iranpsych are Iranian databases of which the last one is especially for psychiatry and psychology literature. INCLUSION CRITERIA WERE: conducting studies by random sampling, using valid instruments to assess ADHD diagnosis or symptoms,and presenting a prevalence of ADHD or attention deficit and / or hyperactivity symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After quality assessment, 16 studies were accepted. Their estimation of prevalence was different as different scales were used. Hyperactive type was more prevalent in boys, and inattentive type was more prevalent in girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Being aware of the epidemiology of ADHD in Iran helps us to make improvements in planning the allocation of funds for mental health services. Using one instrument in studying the prevalence of ADHD in a population may lead to more precise estimations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Institute of psychiatry, Mental Health Research Center.
authors.forename: Mitra Hakim
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shooshtary
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chimeh
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohamadi
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yousefi-Nouraie
authors.forename: Afarin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi-Mvaghar