In a new study, scientists are reporting that young people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD tend to utilize healthcare services at a rate that is double that of their peers during the two years leading up to their diagnosis.
The research, published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, reports that children with ADHD have a two-fold higher likelihood of consulting their general practitioner, being hospitalized, and even undergoing surgical procedures, in comparison to children who do not have ADHD.
The researchers said that children and young people with ADHD frequently consult healthcare professionals, yet current guidelines from organizations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the American Academy of Pediatrics lack specific recommendations for earlier ADHD detection.
Children with ADHD experience delays in diagnosis
The study was led by Vibhore Prasad, a scholar and visiting lecturer at King’s College London and a general practitioner in Nottinghamshire, England.
Prasad explained the key findings to Medical News Today, saying that ADHD is “a common problem in young people.”
He noted that professionals expect 3 to 5 percent of young people worldwide to have this health problem.
“However, in many countries (including the United Kingdom), there are delays in the recognition of ADHD and an under-recognition,” Prasad said.
The research primarily concentrated on understanding why children visited their general practitioner, received prescriptions, were admitted to the hospital for overnight stays, and underwent surgical procedures.
Examining medical records of children and young adults
The study examined the medical records of children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 years from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, which is a primary care database encompassing the records of approximately 15 million individuals across 730 general practitioner practices. It represents about 7 percent of the United Kingdom’s population.
The researchers said the results are important because it is known that early identification of ADHD can lead to more effective treatments, including therapeutic interventions and medications.
The conclusions drawn were based on data from roughly half of the patients in England, who also had linked hospital medical records.
The researchers said the study underscores the importance of conducting additional research to identify children with ADHD at an earlier stage, thereby enabling them to receive more timely and effective assistance.
Recognizing ADHD as a diagnosis
Experts say there is a need to raise awareness of ADHD in order for professionals to consider it as a potential diagnosis.
Prasad explained that “we know that general practitioners have difficulty in recognizing ADHD as a possible diagnosis.”
“Therefore, we used a very large dataset from primary and secondary care medical records (covering 8 percent of the English population) to investigate what happens for young people before diagnosis,” he added.