Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects how people think and act.

People with ADHD may have trouble sitting still, being quiet, or sleeping. They may be rather impulsive. They usually have problems focusing and remembering what is said or done around them. ADHD is called a neurological developmental disorder because it affects how people's nervous systems develop.^[1][2]

Experts think that, throughout the world, about one in twenty children (5%) have ADHD. Some countries have more people with ADHD than others, and not everyone uses the same tests. Psychologists have found more people with ADHD in North America than in Africa and the Middle East.^[3] In the United States, about one in every fourteen children has ADHD (7%), including one in every ten boys (10%) and one in every twenty-five girls (4%).^[4] This could be because more boys get ADHD, or because fewer girls take ADHD tests.^[5][6]

ADHD is most diagnosed in children and especially in boys.^[7] However, it is not uncommon for teenagers or adults to be diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD has no cure which means it is permanent. However, people with ADHD can treat it which means to help them get better. The difference between a cure and treatment is a cure entirely removes a problem, while the treatment does not remove the problem but help make the symptoms go away as if you don't have ADHD.^[8]

1. ↑ "LONI: Laboratory of Neuro Imaging". Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
2. ↑ NINDS Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Information Page. Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS/NIH) 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
3. ↑ Polanczyk G.; et al. (2007). "The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: a systematic review and metaregression analysis". Am J Psychiatry. 164 (6): 942–48. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.164.6.942. PMID 17541055.
4. ↑ "National Health Interview survey, 2002"PDF (3.71 MB). Centers for Disease Control, 2004. Retrieved on December 11, 2006.
5. ↑ Staller J & Faraone SV. 2006. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in girls: epidemiology and management. CNS Drugs. 2006;20(2):107–23. PMID 16478287
6. ↑ Biederman J & Faraone S.V. 2004. The Massachusetts General Hospital studies of gender influences on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in youth and relatives. Psychiatr Clin North Am. Jun;27(2):225–32. PMID 15063995
7. ↑ "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment in Children and Adolescents (A Systematic Review)". Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment in Children and Adolescents (A Systematic Review) | PCORI. 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
8. ↑ Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder: ADHD in Adults. WebMd.com. Retrieved on December 11, 2006.