The number of ADHD diagnoses for children and young people continued to increase

Junior And the number of adhd diagnoses for young people has continued to increase, according to the registry information of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

By 2023, about one tenth of both primary and 17-year-old boys had ADHD diagnosis. For girls in primary school age, the prevalence of diagnoses was about four percent and for girls aged 13-17, about six percent.

Although girls have fewer diagnoses, in recent years they have become relatively strongest in girls aged 13-17.

Also The use of ADHD drugs is becoming more common in children and adolescents.

“The proliferation of ADHD diagnoses of children and adolescents is not yet stabilizing. In addition, the results contribute to the notion that diagnosis for girls will take place clearly later than the boys, ”says Kela Senior Research Fellow Miika Mountain in the bulletin.

According to him, a similar has been observed in Sweden and Denmark.

According to THL and Kela experts, the annual recovery of ADHD diagnoses in primary school boys in Finland will rise to about 15 % in the light of current data and for girls aged 13-17 to about 8-10 % before the growth stabilized.

Diagnosis information is based on information from the Nursing Registers maintained by THL. ADHD, or disorder of activity and attention, is a common neurophageal syndrome that begins in childhood and often continuing to adulthood.

Wellness areas The differences between children and adoles in children and adoles are great. The most common diagnoses and use of ADHD drugs are in Eastern Finland and the rarest in Ostrobothnia and Eastern Uusimaa.

“Large regional differences in both diagnoses and medication suggest that there are significant regional variations in research and treatment practices. More attention should be paid to this, ”the chief physician of THL Terhi Aalto-Setälä says.

Diagnosis According to Aalto-Setälä, THL, many factors are influenced by the widespread. One explanation may be that nowadays ADHD symptoms are quite well known and that research is more often applied for.

“However, the symptom can be explained by many factors other than ADHD in the development or growth of a child or in a growth environment, which is why careful investigation is needed. This is a major challenge, especially for school and student health care, where this survey pressure is increasingly addressed, ”says Aalto-Setälä in the release.