Screening of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children aged 3 to 6 years and 11 month olds

Abstract

Background ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a multifactorial disorder, defined by hyperactivity, impulsivity and attention deficits. Symptoms of ADHD begins during early childhood and negatively affects functionality at various levels. Aims This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 to screen for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children aged 3 to 6 years, 11 months olds of Tabriz in Iran. Methods A total of 737 children aged 36 months to 6 years, 11 months in Tabriz were randomly selected from kindergarten and preschool centres. Both the Conners Early ChildhoodParent and -Teacher forms were used to estimate the prevalence of ADHD. Results The results indicated that the prevalence of ADHD was 337 (45.7 per cent) based on Conners EC-Parent, 416 (56.4 per cent) according to Conners EC-Teacher, and 225 (30.5 per cent) based on the both Conners EC-Teacher & Parent scales. The results of Fischer's exact test showed that the prevalence of ADHD in boys (n=117, 35.3 per cent) was significantly higher than that of the girls (n=108, 26.6 per cent) (p=0.01, X 2 =6.57). The results of Chi-square test indicated that there was no difference among different age groups in terms of the prevalence of ADHD (X 2 =2.86, p=0.41). Conclusion ADHD screening based on the Conners EC-Teacher & Parent forms was estimated to be 30.5 per cent. The regional prevalence of ADHD appears to be greater among children under the age of 7, although the use of the new Conners EC tool in this study could have possibly affected the ADHD prevalence estimates.