ATTENTION-DEFICIT DISORDER WITH HYPERACTIVITY AMONG PEDIATRIC OUTPATIENTS

Abstract Out of 1000 children (aged 3–12 years) screened in a paediatric outpatient department over a 3 1/2‐year period, 112 were found to have attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH). The prevalence of ADDH increased with age, from 5.2% in those aged 3–4 years, up to 29.2% in those aged 11–12 years. There were four times as many boys as girls with ADDH. ADDH was most common in first born children and those from a lower social class. Children with ADDH had a higher rate of complications during pregnancy and delivery relative to a comparison group. Delayed development, temper‐tantrums, enuresis, tics, broken homes, persistent parental discord and psychiatric illness in parents were all more common in children with ADDH than in the comparison group. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved