Youngest children in class 'more likely to be given ADHD drugs'

Conclusion Overall, this study suggests that in Western Australia – and reportedly in other countries, too – the youngest children in a given school year are more likely to be diagnosed with and treated for ADHD than the eldest in the year. However, it's important not to draw too many conclusions from this brief report. The authors provide very limited information about their methods, so it's not possible to critique how they conducted their study. We don't know why they selected the 2013 school year, for example. It was said to be recommended, but we don't know why. It could be it was known there were an unusually high number of prescriptions noted in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that year, which means it might not be representative. Also, this database can only tell us the number of children that filled out at least one prescription for ADHD medication. We don't know how the children were diagnosed, how long they had been diagnosed or treated for, or whether they actually took the medication. The authors also point out the possible limitation that they didn't know how many children may have entered school outside of their recommended starting year – although this was thought to be few. We also don't know how the researchers identified the international studies, and we don't know that these reported findings give a comprehensive look at ADHD diagnosis and treatment worldwide. It would be a big assumption to say ADHD is being overdiagnosed and overtrea...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Mental health Neurology Medication Source Type: news