Statistical Prevalence

• General Prevalence of AD/HD in Children and Adolescents
• AD/HD Prevalence Breakdowns for Children Ages 3 - 17
• General Prevalence of AD/HD in Adults in the United States

General Prevalence of AD/HD in Children and Adolescents in the United States:

There are several sources for information on the statistical prevalence of AD/HD among school-age children. These include:

1.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication Vital and Health Statistics (PDF; September 2007). Some of the findings in this publication include:

• There are 4.5 million children ages 3 to 17 (7% of this age group) with AD/HD.
• Boys are more than twice as likely to have AD/HD, with 11% of boys in this age range having the disorder and 4% of girls.
• When compared with children who have excellent or very good health, children who have fair or poor health status are nearly 3 times more likely to have AD/HD (7% vs. 19%).

2.  CDC publication Vital and Health Statistics (PDF; July 2008) reports that the incidence of AD/HD diagnoses increased an average of 3% annually between 1997 and 2006.

3.  The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) periodically publishes The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America. The 2001 version of this publication states: "ADHD, one of the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents, affects an estimated 4.1 % of youths ages 9 to 17 in a 6-month period." The 2008 edition states: "The median age of onset of AD/HD is 7 years..."

4.  Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA; January 2001) and Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (March 2002) cite Mayo Clinic studies that use 7.5%.

5.  Report of the U.S. Surgeon General on Mental Health (1999) states that 3 to 5% of school-age children have AD/HD. Based on the January 2001 General Accounting Office (GAO) report stating that there are 46.6 million public school students, this would mean there are at least between 1.398 million (3%) and 2.330 million (5%) school-age children with AD/HD (cf. 1999 Report of the Surgeon General, chapter 3 [PDF])

6.  CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR, Sept. 2, 2005) reports:

• Between 3 and 7% of school-age children have AD/HD.
• Prevalence rates vary between states, with Colorado having the lowest rate at 5% and Alabama having the highest rate of 11.1%.
• 2.5 million children between the ages of 4 and 17 (56% of those diagnosed) received medication treatment for AD/HD as of 2003.
• Children between the ages of 9 and 12 showed the highest prevalence of medication treatment for AD/HD as of 2003.

7. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer Data and Statistics on AD/HD through the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

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AD/HD Prevalence Breakdowns for Children Between Ages 3 - 17:

These data are taken from CDC's Vital and Health Statistics (September 2007).

By Age:

• 2.05 million children between the ages of 5 to 11 have AD/HD (7.4%)
• 2.4 million children between the ages of 12 to 17 have AD/HD (9.7%)

By Ethnic Background:

• White: 3.6 million children have AD/HD (7.6%)
• Black or African American: 705,000 children have AD/HD (7.4%)
• Hispanic or Latino: 602,000 children have AD/HD (5.1%)

By Family Structure:

• Mother and father: 2.5 Million children have AD/HD (5.9 %)
• Mother, no father: 1.6 Million children have AD/HD (11.1 %)
• Father, no mother: 226,000 children have AD/HD (8.6 %)
• Neither mother nor father: 219,000 children have AD/HD (10.7 %)

Breakdown on co-occurring conditions:

These are data on the most common co-occurring conditions as reported in ADHD characteristics: I. Concurrent co-morbidity patterns in children & adolescents, (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, July 2008).

• The most prevalent co-occurring disorder with AD/HD is Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), appearing 40.6 % of the time.
• Minor Depression/Dysthymia (MDDD) was second, with a rate of 21.6%.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) was third, appearing 15.2% of the time.

Breakdown of co-occurring conditions by AD/HD subtype:

In predominantly inattentive subtype:

• 20.8% had MDDD.
• 20.8% ODD.
• 18.6% GAD.

In predominantly hyperactive-impulsive subtype:

• 41.9% had ODD.
• 22.2% GAD.
• 19.4% MDDD.

In combined subtype:

• 50.7% had ODD.
• 22.7% MDDD.
• 12.4% GAD.

Breakdown by AD/HD subtype:

This data were reported in Prevalence, Recognition, and Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a National Sample of US Children, (Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, September 2007).

• Total Sample:  3082
• AD/HD all types:  222
• Inattentive subtype:  95
• Combined type:  72
• Hyperactive-Impulsive type:  55

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General Prevalence of AD/HD in Adults in the United States:

1. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), (American Journal of Psychiatry, April 2006). This study estimated that 4.4% of adults between ages 18 and 44 experience some symptoms and disabilities from AD/HD.
2. CNS Spectrum: The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine (August 2008) features an expert roundtable supplement titled Best Practices in Adult ADHD: Epidemiology, Impairments, and Differential Diagnosis. This publication states that about 4% of the adult population in the U.S. has AD/HD.   

Last Updated September, 2009

Other Web Sites:

• Vital and Health Statistics
  Report from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics - July 2008 (pdf)
• Prevalence Based on Parent Report
  Prevalence of Diagnosis and Medication Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (U.S., 2003) based on Parent Reports
• Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health
  The Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health provides online access to survey data that allows users to compare state, regional, and nationwide results - plus resources and personalized assistance for interpreting and reporting findings.
• CDC's Disability and Health State Chartbook - 2006