A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal of 937,943
children finds that boys born in December were 30 percent more
likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than classmates born in January
of the same calendar year. December-born girls were 70 percent
more likely to have an ADHD diagnosis. Similar patterns existed
for rates of ADHD prescriptions. The cut-off date of birth for
school entry in British Columbia is December 31, so children
born in December are almost a year younger than classmates born
in January. The researchers were concerned that these younger
children were simply acting younger compared with their older
classmates and may have been wrongly diagnosed. “These findings
raise concerns about the potential harms of overdiagnosis and
overprescribing,” they wrote. For more on the diagnosis of ADHD
in Psychiatric News, click here. (Image: Monkey Business
Images/Shutterstock.com)