More than 2.5 million American children are now medicated for ADHD, CDC says

• As many children in the United States are now being medicated for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as are being medicated for asthma.
• And many more children aged 4 to 17 have received a diagnosis for the disorder, according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
• "This is the first report that has enumerated the number of children who have ever had an ADHD diagnosis and are currently medicated," said Suzanne Visser, an epidemiologist with the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
• "We know for the first time that approximately 2.5 million children are being medicated for ADHD.
• ADHD is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by the inability to pay attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
• Stimulants are the first-line treatment for the disorder, but there has been much concern about the safety of this approach including, recently, debates at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as to whether to make labeling changes for a class of ADHD drugs that includes Ritalin.
• To estimate rates of parent-reported diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, the authors of this report analyzed data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health.
• Interviewers had asked parents of children aged 4 to 17 whether a health-care provider had ever told them their child had ADHD and, if so, if the child was currently taking medication for the condition.
• Diagnosis was more frequent among males in families with incomes below the poverty levels vs. above the poverty level.
• The highest rates of medication treatment for ADHD were among males aged 12 years (9.3 percent) and females aged 11 years (3.7 percent).
• Non-Hispanic, English-speaking, insured children were again more likely to be receiving medication.
• Rates of medication treatment among those with a reported diagnosis of ADHD ranged from 40.6 percent in California to 68.5 percent in Nebraska.