title: Is ADHD Really Increasing in Youth?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  It would be useful to compare temporal changes in the diagnostic prevalence of ADHD obtained from identical population surveys with time-trend survey findings based on individual ADHD features.
  
  
  METHODS
  Changes in the diagnostic prevalence of ADHD over time were recorded from parent reports and from physician office visit data. Associated features of ADHD were temporally recorded from standardized teacher, parent, and youth surveys.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Time-trend diagnostic findings on ADHD prevalence based on 6 parent surveys and 12 outpatient physician office visit surveys revealed consistent rate increases. By contrast, 26 sets of standard ratings of the primary and associated features of ADHD assessed systematically by different teachers, parents, and students during different years indicated little change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Time-trend national surveys of ADHD in youth over the last two decades reveal consistent increases in its diagnostic prevalence, whereas time-trend findings for individual ADHD-related symptoms remained relatively stable.
authors.affiliation: 1 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Safer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ADHD; CBCL; CDC; prevalence; time-trend