UK STATISTICS (according to AADD-UK)
Children 5-15 years: 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls have ADD
(Hyperkinetic Disorder sometimes also included in ADD. Prevalence rate around 1.5% for primary school boys)
by age 25 only 15% retain a full ADD diagnosis (0.6%-1.2% of population)
A further 65% fulfil the criteria in partial remission (2%-4% of population)
Estimated prevalence of ADD adults is between 3% and 4% (with roughly equal proportions of males and females??)
ADHD is a common disorder. In the UK, surveys of children between the ages of 5 and 15 years found that 3.62% of boys and 0.85% of girls had ADHD. Hyperkinetic Disorder is less common and prevalence estimates are around 1.5% for boys in the primary school years. The worldwide prevalence for children with ADHD is 5% (Faraone, Sergeant, Gilberg & Biederman, 2003).
Also, a recent review of longitudinal follow-up studies of individuals diagnosed with ADHD as children found that by age 25 only 15% retained the full ADHD diagnosis. However, a much larger proportion (65%) fulfilled criteria for either ADHD or ADHD in partial remission, indicating the persistence of some symptoms associated with clinical impairments in the majority of cases. It is likely, therefore, that about 0.6–1.2% of adults retain the full diagnosis by age 25 years and a larger percentage (2–4%) have ADHD in partial remission. This is consistent with population surveys in adult populations that estimate prevalence of ADHD in adults to be between 3 and 4% (CG72 Full Version page 26-27).
When researchers are conducting studies, they typically use the same definitions of ADHD for both boys and girls, and usually find more boys than girls with ADHD (a ratio of about 3 to 1). The gender ratio for children attending ADHD clinics, however, is usually higher than in the research surveys, which raises the possibility that females with ADHD receive less recognition. Similarly, in adult life, the male-female ratio for ADHD appears to be approximately equal, which again suggests the possibility that the high gender ratios in childhood may be partly a result of under-identifying the problem in girls, or of a different presentation of symptoms in girls (CG72 Full Version pages 127-128).
US STATISTICS (according to Center for Disease Control)
11% of children (4-17) have been diagnosed with ADD (as of 2016)
i.e. 6 million children (43% rise since 2003)
The average age of onset is 5 for severe ADD, 7 for moderate symptoms, and 8 for mild symptoms.
13.2% of boys
5.6% of girls
6.1% of US population took stimulant medications for ADD in 2007
Emotional development for children with ADD is 30% slower than for children without ADD
e,g. 10 year old with ADD is typically at emotional level of 7 year old
a 16-year-old beginning driver is using the decision making skills of an 11 or 12 year old.
75% of boys (and 60% of girls) with ADD are hyperactive
3 to 5% of American teens suffer from ADD
2-4 times as many traffic violations
4 times as many traffic accidents
7 times more likely to have second accident
4.4% of US adult population have ADD
Less than 20% seek help for it
41.3% of these cases are severe
During their lifetimes 12.9% of US men are diagnosed with ADD, compared with 4.9% of women,
30 to 60% of patients diagnosed with ADD during childhood continue to be affected as adults
Adults 5 times more likely to speed.
50% more likely to be in serious car crash
30% more likely to be dead by age 45
50% of adults experience anxiety disorders
