By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More children are
being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) now than were a decade ago, according to new research
from a large California health plan. It's not clear what's
behind that trend, researchers noted. Possible explanations
include better awareness of the condition among parents and
doctors or improved access to health care for kids with
symptoms, according to Dr. Darios Getahun, the study's lead
author. Prior research has also shown an increasing trend in
ADHD diagnoses, according to Getahun, from the Kaiser Permanente
Southern California Medical Group in Pasadena. However, his team
had strict criteria for determining which kids had ADHD,
requiring a clinical diagnosis and prescriptions for ADHD
medications. Past studies have relied on parent and teacher
reports alone, Getahun noted. In an analysis of Kaiser
Permanente medical records, researchers found the proportion of
five- to 11-year-olds diagnosed with ADHD increased from