November 10th, 2010 04:00 PM ET Nearly one in 10 children in the
U.S. has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD), and the rate appears to be growing, according
to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). The percentage of children ages 4
to 17 who have ever been diagnosed with ADHD rose from 7.8
percent to 9.5 percent between 2003 and 2007—a 22 percent
increase, the CDC found. The report was based on the results of
the National Survey of Children's Health, a nationwide telephone
survey of parents. The increases were especially dramatic among
15- to 17-year-olds and Hispanics. It's unclear from the survey
data whether the increase in diagnoses is due to an actual rise
in ADHD cases stemming from social or environmental factors, or
to growing awareness of the disorder, the researchers say.
Susanna Visser, an epidemiologist at the CDC and the lead author
of the report, says that factors including lead exposure, low
birth weight, and prematu