Is ADHD overdiagnosed and overtreated?

Pieter Cohen, M.D., Michael Hochman, M.D., M.P.H., Rachael Bedard, M.D. Follow us on Twitter @slowmedupdates Gretchen LeFever, a clinical psychologist at Eastern Virginia Medical School, wanted to understand how many children had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at elementary schools in Virginia communities. Her findings among the 30,000 children she studied in the 1990s foreshadowed a national pattern: rates of ADHD varied widely among districts, and the rates in some communities were much higher than predicted. In some school districts, by the fifth grade one in five white boys had been diagnosed with ADHD. In other communities, being young for one’s grade increased the chances of being prescribed stimulants 20-fold. Her findings garnered national attention and additional research funding, including a major grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LeFever’s success, unfortunately, was abruptly cut short after her medical school received an anonymous letter accusing her of academic fraud. LeFever was placed on administrative leave, and her computers were confiscated. After a university investigation found no evidence of fraud, she was vindicated, but the effects were devastating. LeFever described the impact of the accusation as contributing “to the suppression of a large and unique dataset of risk and protective factors associated with ADHD diagnosis and treatment [and] to the total dismantling of a sch...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Children's Health Drugs and Supplements Parenting Source Type: blogs