Is ADHD Overdiagnosed? It’s Complicated, Part 2

Earlier this year, the CDC released data that showed that diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) went up over the past few years. But the CDC data also showed that diagnoses went up across the board for multiple mental disorders. Some media outlets at the time, however, only focused on the increase in the diagnosis of ADHD. This two-part article (part 1 is here) examines whether there really is an “over”-diagnosis of ADHD — or whether it’s more complicated than answering with a simple “yes” or “no.” The Recent BMJ Study This past month, the prestigious BMJ entered the fray with this study (Thomas et al., 2013) — which sadly only clouds things further. The researchers note the rise of ADHD diagnoses… but not by physicians, but by parental self-report: In US population surveys the prevalence of parent reported diagnosis of ADHD rose from 6.9% in 1997 to 9.5% in 2007. Which is all good and fine, but the researchers trust that parents are self-reporting their children’s diagnosis accurately (as opposed to the data-neutral method of collecting actual diagnostic data from medical records themselves). And while the BMJ authors note the rise of the diagnosis of ADHD around the world — citing the changes in the DSM criteria (which were last changed about 20 years ago) — most countries don’t actually use the DSM for diagnosing of mental disorders. Australia and the UK both use ...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Tags: ADHD and ADD Children and Teens Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Minding the Media Parenting Policy and Advocacy attention Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Bmj Depression Diagnosis Media Outlets Mental Disor Source Type: blogs