Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely than other children to have other mental or physical conditions, a new study found. An article in WebMD Health News reported findings of a new study published in Pediatrics in March 2011.
According to the study, ADHD has been linked to higher incidences of learning disabilities, behavioral problems, depression, anxiety, poor hearing, speech problems and others. 70% of US kids ages 6-17 in the study had additional mental or physical problems, and one in five had at least three of these conditions.
Mark L. Wolraich MD, director of Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma said, That kids with ADHD were shown to have problems in school, have more accidents and get into more trouble with the law than other kids. ADHD is not just a problem of childhood and adolescence, and it affects the entire family.
During this study, researchers interviewed almost 62,000 parents of school age children. Researchers used two questions to determine if the children had ADHD. The first question was: has the child been diagnosed with ADHD? The second question was: does the child have ADHD now?
If the answers to these questions were yes, researchers then asked parents if their kids had any other of the following disorders: learning disability, conduct problems, anxiety, depression, autism, problems with hearing or speech, seizures, vision problems or Tourett Syndrome.
Eight percent of the kids in the study had ADHD. 80% of those with three or more conditions had problems in school and half had repeated a grade.
ADHD is on the rise in the US. There are almost 4 million cases in children ages 6-17. ADHD is associated with low birth weight, premature birth and tobacco use during pregnancy.