ADHD diagnoses are on the rise for multiple reasons
from the health records company Epic found that 0.6% of the millions of U.S. patients in its database were diagnosed with ADHD in 2022, compared to about 0.4% in 2019. An analysis from health care research firm Trilliant Health also found that more adults ages 22 to 44 sought care for ADHD in 2021 versus 2020, and that 15% more adults in this age group had an Adderall prescription in the middle of 2021 compared to a year earlier.
To diagnose ADHD, clinicians usually rely on the patient’s description of their symptoms at various phases of their life, reports from people they know, or, more rarely, neuropsychiatric testing. Not all clinicians are properly trained to do that assessment—which goes back to a long misunderstanding of what ADHD is and who it affects.
While boys typically experience hyperactive symptoms of ADHD, including impulse control and excess energy, girls are more likely to experience internal symptoms, like trouble focusing or listening, that are harder to notice. Adults with ADHD may slip through the cracks for similar reasons, Zylowska says: hyperactivity tends to improve as someone gets older, but inattention and other symptoms can persist.
Sibley says that’s one of her primary concerns about potential misdiagnosis of ADHD: the possibility that people have other conditions that are being missed. Plenty of mental and physical conditions can lead to concentration or behavioral issues that look similar to ADHD, and many clinicians aren’t prepared to sort through the differences.
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