"My mind cannot control what I focus on."
"Multitasking is confusing for me."
"There are too many things to pay attention to."
”I can never sit still long enough to watch a movie in the theater.”
These are just a few examples of what the world is like for someone with ADHD.
ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a multifaceted behavioral condition prevalent among children. It results in decreased focus, interpersonal challenges, increased irritability, and difficulty in multitasking (more than the average person, that is).
Being known for its association with children, the prevalence trends of the condition have shown a stark increase. Research suggests a 4% increase in ADHD diagnosis among children and adolescents from the late 90s to 2016.
Such an increase is concerning for mental health professionals. Especially because ADHD deeply connects with many learning, emotional, and social hindrances.
However, the question remains: what is causing this shift in prevalence?
Do More People Have ADHD?
It’s difficult to know the true rates of ADHD, especially in adults, because the condition varies in severity (especially if the presenting problem is a related condition such as depression), and not all people with the disorder are formally diagnosed. Additionally, it’s also difficult to determine whether there really are more people with ADHD — or is it that there are more people seeking help for their symptoms (or that of their children)?
As ADHD specialist Dr. Lidia Zylowska told Time, “There’s a risk of under-diagnosis, and there’s a risk of over-diagnosis.”
Another factor that makes it challenging to know the true prevalence of ADHD is that studies use different criteria and methods to make the classification. US federal data indicates that 8% of adults and 10% of children have an ADHD diagnosis. However, a recent study at Oregon Health & Science University suggests that these statistics may be higher than the true ADHD rates.
3 Reasons for Increased ADHD Rates
While we may not know the exact numbers, what we do know is this. The number of people with the ADHD label — both children and adults — has risen over the past decades.
Let’s take a look at some of the possible reasons for this increase.
An Increase in Awareness
One of the significant determinants of increasing mental health diagnosis is awareness. Regardless of what the condition is.
In recent years, society's perception of mental health has vastly improved. With a much more open approach towards it, the stigma has also decreased. That has motivated individuals with mental health disturbances to gain a professional diagnosis.
With more diagnoses happening, the prevalence number automatically sees an increase; because of more people stepping out and reporting their conditions.
The case for ADHD is similar. Increased awareness, especially among parents, has facilitated diagnoses. People are now more receptive to the condition and actively consider treatment options.
The process gets more streamlined with the efforts of mental health professionals working to find long-term treatment options for ADHD. Hence, the overall ease surrounding the diagnosis process allows more people to be able to ask for help.
While awareness of a condition that helps people get treatment is a good thing, there can also be a downside. In the case of ADHD, there is sometimes a trend toward labeling personality traits and learning styles as symptoms of the condition — resulting in a false diagnosis. Or people self-diagnosing themselves with ADHD based on just a few of their behaviors or traits.
For example, a person who prefers being active or doing things with their hands is likely to be antsy during a long movie. Or a child with a strong, inquisitive nature will probably be the same child asking questions and talking out of turn in class. Seeing these behaviors in isolation, it’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “Oh, he must have ADHD…”
The Role of Genetics
Genes play an evident part in the prevalence of ADHD. The chances of acquiring the condition increase significantly if either of the parents has it.
Rare genetic abnormalities contribute to the onset. Such changes hinder optimal brain development, especially of the prefrontal cortex. Because of this, the manifestation of ADHD symptoms gets easier.
When a genetic predisposition towards the condition is present, environmental factors might showcase a heightened effect too. After all, nature and nurture are interlinked.
For example, a person whose mother has ADHD is more prone to displaying similar symptoms because of external factors such as sleep deprivation.
At the same time, the opposite can happen as well.
The Increasing Risks Around Us
For any health condition to be present, surroundings are a crucial factor.
The world we live in is fast-paced. Everything happens in the blink of an eye. While such efficiency has made life easy, it has also decreased the human ability to wait.
Our streams of information are endless, all right at our fingertips. And everything moves so quickly. We focus on one thing for a few seconds and instantly move on to another. The cycle continues day in and day out.
Such a high level of stimulation promotes symptoms of ADHD. Over time, individuals develop shorter attention spans and a decreased ability to focus. Such symptoms become more prominent in environments that require them to do the opposite.
For example, a student might get fidgety because of their inability to concentrate in a one-hour-long class lecture.
Other environmental factors include:
- Prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco
- Exposure to chemicals such as lead and pesticides
- Injuries to the prefrontal regions of the brain that are responsible for attention and focus
- Sleep deprivation
Increased exposure to these factors increases the probability of passing down the condition through genetics.
For example, an individual who acquires ADHD because of prenatal alcohol exposure has a greater chance of instilling the condition in their offspring than someone who did not.
Is ADHD Becoming More Common?
While many might argue that the condition exists solely in children and adolescents, exposure to environmental factors and awareness states the opposite. A recent study shows a 4.06% increase in adult ADHD diagnoses over ten years (between January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2016), roughly the same as in children.
The numbers increase with higher exposure to environmental causes of ADHD. Increased awareness also plays a role.
Another study found that new ADHD diagnoses among adult women almost doubled between 2020 and 2022.
However, professional interventions can help curb this increasing prevalence.
With more people understanding that ADHD does not carry an age restriction, the ease of diagnosis is also increasing. And with how common the condition is getting, it never hurts to take an ADHD test to determine if your symptoms stem from it or not. It’s always important to monitor and take care of our cognitive health as we get older.
Genetic or environmental, numerous treatment options are present for ADHD symptoms:
While all of these will help manage symptoms, the important part is timely intervention. Once that happens, getting the proper treatment becomes easier.
