title: Trends in the parent-report of health care provider-diagnosed and medicated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: United States, 2003-2011.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Data from the 2003 and 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) reflect the increasing prevalence of parent-reported attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and treatment by health care providers. This report updates these prevalence estimates for 2011 and describes temporal trends.
  
  
  METHODS
  Weighted analyses were conducted with 2011 NSCH data to estimate prevalence of parent-reported ADHD diagnosis, current ADHD, current medication treatment, ADHD severity, and mean age of diagnosis for U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years and among demographic subgroups. A history of ADHD diagnosis (2003-2011), as well as current ADHD and medication treatment prevalence (2007-2011), were compared using prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2011, 11% of children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had ever received an ADHD diagnosis (6.4 million children). Among those with a history of ADHD diagnosis, 83% were reported as currently having ADHD (8.8%); 69% of children with current ADHD were taking medication for ADHD (6.1%, 3.5 million children). A parent-reported history of ADHD increased by 42% from 2003 to 2011. Prevalence of a history of ADHD, current ADHD, medicated ADHD, and moderate/severe ADHD increased significantly from 2007 estimates. Prevalence of medicated ADHD increased by 28% from 2007 to 2011.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Approximately 2 million more U.S. children/adolescents aged 4 to 17 years had been diagnosed with ADHD in 2011, compared to 2003. More than two-thirds of those with current ADHD were taking medication for treatment in 2011. This suggests an increasing burden of ADHD on the U.S. health care system. Efforts to further understand ADHD diagnostic and treatment patterns are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Electronic address: svisser@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Susanna N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
authors.forename: Melissa L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Danielson
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
authors.forename: Rebecca H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Bitsko
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Holbrook
authors.affiliation: Office of Epidemiology and Research, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Kogan
authors.affiliation: Office of Epidemiology and Research, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration.
authors.forename: Reem M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ghandour
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Perou
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blumberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); epidemiology; medication; prevalence; stimulants