The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis

kategorisi adhd

The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review
and Metaregression Analysis
Objective: The worldwide prevalence estimates
of attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD)/hyperkinetic disorder
(HD) are highly heterogeneous. Presently,
the reasons for this discrepancy remain
poorly understood. The purpose of this
study was to determine the possible
causes of the varied worldwide estimates
of the disorder and to compute its worldwide-pooled
prevalence.
Method: The authors searched MEDLINE
and PsycINFO databases from January
1978 to December 2005 and reviewed
textbooks and reference lists of the studies
selected. Authors of relevant articles
from North America, South America, Europe,
Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle
East and ADHD/HD experts were contacted.
Surveys were included if they
reported point prevalence of ADHD/HD
for subjects 18 years of age or younger
from the general population or schools
according to DSM or ICD criteria.
Results: The literature search generated
9,105 records, and 303 full-text articles
were reviewed. One hundred and two
studies comprising 171,756 subjects from
all world regions were included. The
ADHD/HD worldwide-pooled prevalence
was 5.29%. This estimate was associated
with significant variability. In the multivariate
metaregression model, diagnostic
criteria, source of information, requirement
of impairment for diagnosis, and
geographic origin of the studies were significantly
associated with ADHD/HD prevalence
rates. Geographic location was associated
with significant variability only
between estimates from North America
and both Africa and the Middle East. No
significant differences were found between
Europe and North America.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that
geographic location plays a limited role in
the reasons for the large variability of
ADHD/HD prevalence estimates worldwide.
Instead, this variability seems to be
explained primarily by the methodological
characteristics of studies.

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