A study has unveiled a new approach to determine children who could be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). There is a higher chance of these children to be prescribed medication for ADHD.
The study conducted by a research team in Taiwan has unveiled that a child’s birth date plays an important role in determining child’s chances to be diagnosed with ADHD.
Preschool and school-age children who were born in August were at an increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD and receive medication for it rather than those born in September. The findings may not apply in the case of teenagers.
Study’s lead researcher Dr. Mu-Hong Chen from Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan said that a child’s age relative to his or her classmates may have a significant impact on the ADHD diagnosis.
The researchers collected information from a health insurance database of around 380,000 schoolchildren in Taiwan aged between 4 and 17. The prevalence of children diagnosed with ADHD by birth was assessed. The researchers have also seen those who were prescribed medication as treatment over a period of 14 schools years.
Owing to cutoff dates in Taiwan, children within the same grade could be almost one year apart in age. The new research supports the findings of previous research on ADHD in the United States and Canada, which suggested that age within a grade can make a difference in child’s risk of being diagnosed with ADHD and receiving medication for the same.
Chen said that children who have brains that are not as mature as other children in the same grade are at increased risk of inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactive symptoms. These factors affect their academic performance.
“Our findings emphasize the importance of considering the age of a child within a grade when diagnosing A.D.H.D. and prescribing medication for treating A.D.H.D”, said Chen.
According to a report in NewsWire by Boris Djuric, "As soon as this type of behavior had been classified as a disorder with medicinal origins, pharmaceutical companies started developing medication to treat it. Ever since then, pediatricians widely diagnose ADHD, prescribing medicine to children, even in cases when the child is simply younger, more active or less mature than the rest of the class, a new study that was published in the Journal of Pediatrics has said, the UK Telegraph reports."
A new study of nearly 400,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 in Taiwan has shown that the percentage of children diagnosed with ADHD is disproportionately higher in younger children. Children who are a year younger are often pushed into the same class as older kids because of their birth date, combined with their parent’s ambitions.
A report published in the NewsQuench said, "Data from nearly 400,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 was gathered and analyzed, showing just how the month they were born in played a critical role in an ADHD diagnosis. Boys in particular saw the more dramatic jump; 2.8% of those born in September were diagnosed with the disorder, with the number jumping to 4.5% of those born in August. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics, one can see that the percentage slowly goes up as the months go by."
“The study highlights the importance of ensuring the assessment for ADHD is rigorous and relies on a variety of sources of information that support the clinician in deciding whether the diagnosis is met,” said Naidoo.
"By the time they're in elementary school, some kids prove to be more troublesome than others. They can't sit still or they're not socializing or they can't focus enough to complete tasks that the other kids are handling well. Sounds like ADHD. But it might be that they're just a little young for their grade," according to a news report published by KeraNews.
And yet a first-grader might stand shoulder to shoulder with another student nearly 12 months her elder. "And the way we diagnose ADHD is we talk to the parent about the child's behavior, and we mail the teacher questionnaires," Spinks-Franklin says. "The teacher will be comparing the child's behavior relative to other children in the class."
By: Tanya Campbell .
Review: Emerging Market Formulations &
Research Unit, Flagship Records.
For The #FacebookTeam