Is the prevalence of ADHD in Turkish elementary school children really high?

Abstract

Purpose: Previous findings in Turkish samples of children have suggested higher prevalence of ADHD than those detected in Western cultures. Methodological problems might explain these findings. Here, we aimed to re-check the prevalence rate of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) along with other childhood psychiatric disorders in a representative school sample of elementary school children in İzmir, Turkey.

Method: The sample consisted of 419 randomly selected primary school children aged 6-14-year-old. We were able to interview 417 cases (99.5 % of the sample). Psychiatric diagnoses in children were assessed using the K-SADS-PL (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children- Present and Lifetime Version) and an impairment criterion scale.

Results: The prevalence rates of ADHD were 21.8 and 12.7 % in children without and with impairment, respectively. The following major mental disorders were significantly more prevalent in ADHD cases than controls: oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) (9.4 versus 0 %), conduct disorder (15.1 versus 0 %), anxiety (17 versus 0.5 %), and mood (5.7 versus 0.8 %).

Conclusions: Our results confirmed a substantially higher ADHD prevalence rate (more than double) than the suggested pooled worldwide prevalence, although similar to the one recently detected in a representative populational sample of children in the US (11 %). These findings, consistent with previous developmental epidemiology studies from Turkey, confirm that ADHD is highly prevalent in Turkish elementary school children.