ADHD early symptoms as number of UK adults and boys diagnosed skyrockets

17 July 2023 , 01:16

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Young boys aged between 10 and 16 were diagnosed the most (Image: Getty Images/Maskot)

The number of adults and young boys diagnosed with ADHD in the UK has skyrocketed in the last 20 years. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD for short - can present itself in childhood with most cases in boys aged ten to 16, a study shows.

Researchers from University College London (UCL) reveals that it's not just diagnoses but prescriptions for medication to treat ADHD symptoms has risen over the same time period. Experts reviewed data from seven million Brits from the ages of three to 99, between the years 2000 and 2018.

Of these individuals, 35,877 had an ADHD diagnosis and 18,518 received prescriptions for ADHD medication from their GP. Researchers have now predicted the rise in cases to increase.

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

The NHS says that symptoms are normally noticeable before the age of six. They occur in more than one situation, such as at home and at school.

Children may have symptoms of both inattentiveness and hyperactivity and impulsiveness, or they may have symptoms of just one of these types of behaviour.

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The main signifiers are inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

The main signs of inattentiveness are:

having a short attention span and being easily distracted
making careless mistakes – for example, in schoolwork
appearing forgetful or losing things
being unable to stick to tasks that are tedious or time-consuming
appearing to be unable to listen to or carry out instructions
constantly changing activity or task
having difficulty organising tasks

The main signs of hyperactivity and impulsiveness are:

being unable to sit still, especially in calm or quiet surroundings
constantly fidgeting
being unable to concentrate on tasks
excessive physical movement
excessive talking
being unable to wait their turn
acting without thinking
interrupting conversations
little or no sense of danger

These symptoms can cause significant problems in a child's life, such as underachievement at school, poor social interaction with other children and adults, and problems with discipline.

The study found the rise in cases is most significant in children. Just 1.4 per cent of boys between 10 and 16 had ADHD diagnoses in 2000, but this has since risen to 3.5 per cent in 2018.

Of these, 0.6 per cent had been prescribed ADHD medication at the start of the study compared with 2.4 per cent in 2018. The relative increase, however, was largest among adults.

Over that time there was approximately a 20-fold rise in ADHD diagnoses and nearly 50-fold in ADHD prescriptions in men aged between 18 to 29, from 0.01 per cent to 0.56 per cent.

Lead author Dr Doug McKechnie said: "Over the last few years, there have been many reports of long waiting lists for ADHD assessments on the NHS, especially in adults.

"It's likely that more and more people will be diagnosed with, and treated for, ADHD, so specialist services need to be made available to handle this."

The findings, published in the journal BJPsych Open, also found the number of ADHD diagnoses was two times higher in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas.