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Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Jan 19;17(1):32.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-016-1187-9.

Prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among children and adolescents in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Tingting Wang  1 , Kaihua Liu  2 , Zhanzhan Li  3 , Yang Xu  4 , Yuan Liu  1 , Wenpei Shi  1 , Lizhang Chen  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder among children and adolescents in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Tingting Wang et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most common childhood neurobehavioural disorder, can produce a series of negative effects on children, adolescents, and even adults as well as place a serious economic burden on families and society. However, the prevalence of ADHD is not well understood in China. The goal of this study was to estimate the pooled prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China using a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, CNKI, Wanfang, Weipu and CBM databases, and relevant articles published from inception to March 1, 2016, that provided the prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China were reviewed. The risk of bias in individual studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias Tool for prevalence studies. Pooled-prevalence estimates were calculated with a random-effects model. Sources of heterogeneity were explored using subgroup analyses.

Results: Sixty-seven studies with a total of 275,502 individuals were included in this study. The overall pooled-prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China was 6.26% (95% CI: 5.36-7.22%) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 99.0%, P < 0.001). The subgroup analyses showed that, the variables "geographic location" and "source of information" partially explained of the heterogeneity in this study (P < 0.05). The prevalence of ADHD-I was the highest of the subtypes, followed by ADHD-HI and ADHD-C.

Conclusions: The prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China is generally consistent with the worldwide prevalence and shows that ADHD affects quite a large number of people under 18 years old. However, a nationwide study is needed to provide more accurate estimations.

Keywords: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; China; Meta-analysis; Prevalence.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of included/excluded studies
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot of the prevalence of ADHD among children and adolescents in China
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Funnel plots with 95% confidence limits of the prevalence of ADHD. The horizontal line represents the summary effect estimates, and the dotted lines are pseudo 95% CIs
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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