Cohort Change in the Prevalence of ADHD among U.S. Adults: Evidence of a Sex/Gender-Specific Period Effect

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 21. Lifecourse Events and Health

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is increasingly recognized as a lifespan/life-course disorder that affects adult health and mortality. In this paper, we use data from the 2007 and 2012 U.S. National Health Interview Survey to document inter- and intra-cohort changes in adult ADHD, and examine whether these changes vary by sex/gender. We document a 24.6% increase in the overall prevalence of ADHD in the population of adults aged 18 to 64, from 3.41% in 2007 to 4.25% in 2012. Consistent with expectations related to historical and contemporary differences in patterns of diagnostic expansion and diagnosis among boys/men and girls/women, patterns of inter- and intra-cohort change varied by sex/gender. At younger ages, inter-cohort differences between men and women are more distinct primarily due to the spike in ADHD prevalence among men who were born in or after 1978. Consistent with a sex/gender-specific period effect, relatively large, recent, intra-cohort increases among women of virtually all ages have narrowed the sex/gender gap in the prevalence of adult ADHD. Overall, the sex/gender gap decreased by 31.1%, from a 2.06 percentage point difference in 2007 to a 1.42 percentage point difference in 2012. We discuss these results in relation to diagnostic practice, adult health and well-being, data limitations and needs, and directions for future research.

Authors

• Andrew S. London, Syracuse University

• Scott D. Landes, Syracuse University