UNITED STATES

Using data from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health, Danielson, Claussen, Bitsko et al (2024) determined recent ADHD prevalence and treatment among U.S. children and adolescents aged 3-17:

• 7.1 million children (11.4 percent), or approximately 1 in 9 children, have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, including:
  • 274,000 (2.4 percent) young children ages 3-5
  • 2.8 million (11.5 percent) school-age children ages 6-11
  • 4.0 million (15.5 percent) adolescents ages 12-17
• 6.5 million children (10.5 percent) have a current diagnosis of ADHD. This includes:
  • 2.3 percent young children ages 3-5
  • 11.1 percent school-age children ages 6-11
  • 13.6 percent adolescents ages 12-17
• Prevalence by sex among children who have a current diagnosis:
  • 13.3 percent boys
  • 7.5 percent girls
• Prevalence by race or ethnicity among children who have a current diagnosis:
  • 10.9 percent White
  • 10.9 percent Black
  • 8.4 percent American Indian/Alaska Native
  • 3.5 percent Asian
  • 5.0 percent* Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
  • 11.8 percent Two or more races
  • 8.1 percent Hispanic/Latino
  • 11.3 percent Non-Hispanic/Latino
• Prevalence by geographical area among children who have a current diagnosis:
  • 11.9 percent rural
  • 10.9 percent suburban
  • 9.2 percent urban
• Treatment used by children ages 3-17 with a current diagnosis:
  • About half (53.6 percent, 3.4 million) currently take ADHD medication.
  • Two out of five (44.4 percent, 2.8 million) received behavioral treatment for ADHD in the past year.
  • About one out of three (28.2 percent, 1.8 million) received a combination of ADHD medication and behavioral treatment in the past year.
  • One out of six (16.2 percent, 1.0 million) received only behavioral treatment for ADHD in the past year.
  • About one out of three (30.1 percent, 1.9 million) had not received medication or behavioral treatment.
• Severity of ADHD among children ages 3-17 with a current diagnosis:
  • 41.9 percent had mild ADHD.
  • 45.3 percent had moderate ADHD.
  • 12.8 percent had severe ADHD.
• Co-occurring conditions among children ages 3-17 with a current diagnosis:
  • Three out of four children (77.9 percent) had at least one co-occurring condition.
  • Two out of five children (44.1 percent) had behavioral or conduct problems.
  • One out of three of children (36.5 percent) had a learning disability.
  • One out of five children (21.7 percent) had developmental delay.
  • Two out of five children (39.1 percent) had anxiety problems.
  • About one out of five (18.9 percent) had depression.
  • About one out of seven (14.4 percent) had autism spectrum disorder.
  • One out of a hundred children (1.0 percent) had Tourette syndrome.

Reuben and Elgaddal analyzed responses to survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), 2020–2022 to determine prevalence of ADHD reported.

• Among children ages 5-17, 11.3% ever diagnosed with ADHD
  By sex
  • 4.5% boys
  • 8.0% girls
• Of children ages 5-11, 8.6% ever diagnosed with ADHD
  • 11.3% boys in this age group
  • 5.9% girls in this age group
• Of children ages 12-17, 14.3% ever diagnosed with ADHD
  • 17.9% boys in this age group
  • 10.4% girls in this age group
• Of children ages 5-17, by race
  • 10.8% Black, non-Hispanic
  • 13.4% White, non-Hispanic
  • 8.9% Hispanic
• Of children ages 5-17, by family income
  • 14.8% in families with incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level
  • 12.2% in families with incomes of 100% to less than 200% of the federal poverty level
  • 10.1% in families with incomes of 200% of the federal poverty level or more
• Of children ages 5-17, by health insurance coverage
  • 9.7% with private insurance
  • 14.4% with public insurance
  • 6.3% uninsured

Bitsko et al analyzed ADHD prevalence from data collected by parent-reported 2016-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Since the sampling frame and data collection methods have been modified as of 2016, the estimates from the previous surveys and the redesigned surveys cannot be compared to each other.

Of children aged 3-17,

• Approximately 6 million children (9.8 percent) ever been diagnosed with ADHD
  • Ages 3-5: 2.2 percent in this age group
  • Ages 6-11: 10.0 percent
  • Ages 12-17: 13.2 percent
• By race/ethnicity ever been diagnosed with ADHD:
  • 7.5 percent Hispanic
  • 12.0 percent Black, non-Hispanic
  • 10.9 percent White, non-Hispanic
  • 2.6 percent Asian, non-Hispanic
• By geographic classification ever been diagnosed with ADHD:
  • 9.5 percent urban/suburban
  • 12.0 percent rural
• Approximately 5.3 million children (8.7 percent) have a current diagnosis of ADHD:
  • Ages 3-5:  2.0 percent
  • Ages 6-11:  9.3 percent
  • Ages 12-17: 11.5 percent
• By race/ethnicity have a current diagnosis of ADHD:
  • 6.6 percent Hispanic
  • 10.5 percent Black, non-Hispanic
  • 9.9 percent White, non-Hispanic
  • 2.2 percent Asian, non-Hispanic
• By geographic classification have a current diagnosis of ADHD:
  • 8.4 percent urban/suburban
  • 10.7 percent rural

The 2017-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is another parent-reported survey Bitsko et al evaluated to determine ADHD diagnosis prevalence. Past surveys looked at aged 4-17; 2017-2018 looks at children aged 3-17.

Based on results of the US Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the national prevalence of current ADHD for children aged 9-10 years old using strict criteria that met or exceeded the clinical scale of ADHD according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) (Cordova et al, 2022):

ADHD prevalence: 3.53 percent

• Sex, male: 67.10 percent
• Race
  • White, non-Hispanic: 61.36 percent
  • Black: 18.40 percent
  • Asian: 0.62 percent
  • Native American/Alaskan Native: 0.98 percent
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander : 0.01 percent
  • Multiracial: 16.18 percent
  • Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latinx: 18.86 percent
• Prescribed ADHD medication: 44.65 percent

Prevalence rate of comorbid (coexisting) psychiatric disorders, adjusted prevalence rate of coexisting psychiatric disorders (probability of displaying comorbidity with ADHD diagnosis)

• ADHD with any disruptive behavior disorder (“includes oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder”) (Cordova et al, 2022): 30.9 percent
• ADHD with any mood disorder (“includes major depressive disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder”): 2.1 percent
• ADHD with any anxiety disorder (“includes agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, unspecified anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, and social anxiety”): 27.4 percent

According to analysis of data collected by the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the prevalence rates of diagnosed ADHD among children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 in the past twenty years are as follows (Xu et al, 2018):

Overall prevalence and by age group (percent)

Prevalence by gender (percent)

Prevalence by race/ethnicity (percent)

The 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) interviewed parents and reports the following ADHD prevalence data among children ages 2–17 (Danielson et al. 2018):

• 6.1 million children (9.4 percent) have ever been diagnosed with ADHD. This includes:
  • About 388,000 young children ages 2-5 (or 2.4 percent in this age group)
  • 2.4 million school-age children ages 6-11 (or 9.6 percent in this age group)
  • 3.3 million adolescents ages 12-17 (or 13.6 percent in this age group)

• 5.4 million children (8.4 percent) have a current diagnosis of ADHD. This includes:
  • About 335,000 young children ages 2-5 (or 2.1 percent in this age group)
  • 2.2 million school-age children ages 6-11 (or 8.9 percent in this age group)
  • 2.9 million adolescents ages 12-17 (or 11.9 percent in this age group)

• Treatment used by children ages 2-7 with a current diagnosis of ADHD:
  • Two out three were taking medication (62 percent).
  • Less than half received behavioral treatment in the past year (46.7 percent).
  • Nearly one out of three received a combination of medication and behavioral treatment in the past year (31.7 percent).
  • Nearly one out of four had not received any treatment (23 percent).

• Severity of ADHD among children ages 2-17:
  • 14.5 percent had severe ADHD
  • 43.7 percent had moderate ADHD
  • 41.8 percent had mild ADHD

• Co-occuring conditions (children ages 2-17):
  • Two out of three children (63.8 percent) had at least one co-occuring condition.
  • Half of all children (51.5 percent) had behavioral or conduct problems.
  • One out of three children (32.7 percent) had anxiety problems.
  • One out of six children (16.8 perccent) had depression.
  • About one out of seven children (13.7 percent) had autism spectrum disorder.
  • About one out of 80 children (1.2 percent) had Tourette syndrome.
  • One in a hundred adolescents (1 percent) had a substance abuse disorder.

• By race or ethnicity (children ages 2-17):
  • 8.4 percent White
  • 10.7 percent Black
  • 6.6 percent Other
  • 6.0 percent Hispanic/Latino
  • 9.1 percent Non-Hispanic/Latino