GLOBAL

A meta-analysis of 175 research studies worldwide on ADHD prevalence in children aged 18 and under found an overall pooled estimate of 7.2% (Thomas et al. 2015). The US Census Bureau estimates 1,795,734,009 people were aged 5-19 worldwide in 2013. Thus, 7.2% of this total population is 129 million—a rough estimate of the  number of children worldwide who have ADHD.

Based on DSM-IV screening of 11,422 adults for ADHD in 10 countries in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, the estimates of worldwide adult ADHD prevalence averaged 3.4% (Fayyad et al. 2007)

UNITED STATES

Children & Adolescents

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