Are Doctors Missing ADHD in Minority Kids?
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Creatas/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 5 million U.S. children have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, at some point. While some critics say that figure shouldn’t be so high, a study in the journal Pediatrics finds that minority kids may be getting too little attention.
Looking at 17,000 students who entered kindergarten in 1998, researchers at MIT found that, compared to white children, African-American children were 69 percent percent less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, Hispanics were 50 percent less likely to be diagnosed, and kids whose race was labeled “other” were 46 percent less likely to be classified ADHD.
The study also found that minorities were less likely than whites to be taking ADHD medications.
But the study isn’t saying that minorities are less likely to have ADHD, rather that they’re less likely to be diagnosed.
Kids are more likely to have an ADHD diagnosis if they’re male, being raised by an older mother, being raised in an English-speaking household, and if they show problem behaviors like arguing with teachers, fighting or disrupting the classroom.
Since ADHD has such an impact on behavior and learning, the authors stress increased awareness to get minority children treatment if it’s needed.
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