Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among Primary School Children in Tikrit City, Iraq

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most widely recognizedneurobehavioral problem of children, which can interfere with the social and academic level.Objectives: To detect the prevalence of ADHD among primary school students in Tikrit city,Iraq, and to find the effect of the disease on school performance.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was done among students in 6 primary schoolsfor boys and girls during the studying year 2012-2013. The criteria of diagnosis were done accordingto the American Psychiatric Association. Students who fulfill the criteria were included andthe following parameters were studied including age, gender, family history, mother education,socioeconomic status of the family, and school performance.Results: The prevalence rate of ADHD in this study was 8.67%. Boys were mostly affected (65%).Most of them were under 9 years old (49%). Inattention subtype was mostly found in this study(38%) followed by combined (34%) and then hyperactive (28%). Positive family history was foundin (43%) of cases. The education level of their mothers was intermediate or secondary school level(37%). The majority of the cases were from the middle socioeconomic status (53%). Poor schoolperformance was seen in 69% of the cases.Conclusion: ADHD is a big problem among students of primary schools in Tikrit city with asignificant effect on the academic state

Keywords:

Primary school children

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder

Prevalence

PDF (388 K)

1] R. A. Barkley.Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
A handbook for diagnosis and treatment. Guilford Publi-
cations, 2014.
[2] S. Vaziri, F. L. Kashani, and M. Sorati. Effectiveness of
family training in reduced symptoms of the children with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Procedia-Social
Behav. Sci., 128:337–342, 2014.
[3] G. V Polanczyk, E. G. Willcutt, G. A. Salum, C. Kiel-
ing, and L. A. Rohde. Adhd prevalence estimates across
three decades: an updated systematic review and meta-
regression analysis.Int. J. Epidemiol., 43(2):434–442,
2014.
[4] S.VFaraoneandH.Larsson.Geneticsofatten-
tiondeficithyperactivitydisorder.Mol.Psychiatry,
24(4):562–575, 2019.
[5] D. K. Urion.Pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder.Nelson Text. Pediatr. 21sted. Philadelphia, PA
Elsevier, (chapter 49):262–267, 2020.
[6] D. C. Moore and G. F. Best.Fluctuating conductive
hearing loss in young children:Incidence and effects.
Deafness Foundation, 1989.
[7] P. C. Ford-Jones. Misdiagnosis of attention deficit hyper-
activity disorder:’normal behavior’and relative maturity.
Paediatr. Child Health, 20(4):200–202, 2015.
[8] S. Amiriet al.Psychiatric comorbidities in adhd chil-
dren: an iranian study among primary school students.
Arch. Iran. Med., 16(9), 2013.
[9] M. Abolhassanzadehet al.The prevalence and risk fac-
tors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among the
elementary school students in ardabil, iran, in 2011-2012.
J. Res. Clin. Med., 4(3):146–152, 2016.
[10] M. Homidi, Y. Obaidat, and D. Hamaidi. Prevalence of
attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder among pri-
mary school students in jeddah city, ksa.Life Sci. J.,
10(3):280–285, 2013.
[11] V.Eapenetal.Epidemiologicalstudyofattention
deficit hyperactivity disorder among school children in
the united arab emirates.Hamdan Med. J., 2(3):119–
127, 2009.
[12] A. Zorlu, G. Unlu, B. Cakaloz, M. Zencir, A. Buber, and
Y. Isildar. The prevalence and comorbidity rates of adhd
among school-age children in turkey.J. Atten. Disord.,
24(9):1237–1245, 2015.
[13] M. Al Azzam, M. Al Bashtawy, A. Tubaishat, A.-M.
Batiha, and L. Tawalbeh. Prevalence of attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder among school-aged children in jor-
dan.East. Mediterr. Heal. J., 23(7):486–491, 2017.
[14] G. T. Soliman, M. F. Afify, M. A. Yehia, E. A. Abdel-
Naem, and S. M. Abd Alkarim. Attention deficit hyper-
activity disorders: an epidemiological study of preschool
and primary school children in minia city.El-Minia Med
Bul, 21(1):171–179, 2010.
[15] A. Bener, R. Al Qahtani, A. S. Teebi, and M. Bessisso.
The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity symp-
toms in schoolchildren in a highly consanguineous com-
munity.Med. Princ. Pract., 17(6):440–446, 2008.
[16] M. Huss, H. H ̈olling, B.-M. Kurth, and R. Schlack. How
often are german children and adolescents diagnosed with
adhd? prevalence based on the judgment of health care
professionals:results of the german health and exami-
nation survey (kiggs).Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry,
17(1):52–58, 2008.
[17] J. Staller and S. V Faraone.Attention-deficit hyperac-
tivity disorder in girls.CNS Drugs, 20(2):107–123, 2006.
[18] M. Al-Haggar, R. El-Baz, H. Youseff, N. Othman, and
R. Ali. Overview on attention deficit hyperactivity dis-
order among children from delta regions of egypt (a 10
years-study).J. Pediatr. Neurol., 4(1):15–18, 2006.
[19] B. Frankeet al.Live fast, die young?a review on the
developmental trajectories of adhd across the lifespan.
Eur. Neuropsychopharmacol., 28(10):1059–1088, 2018.
[20] K.N.DwivediandR.G.Banhatti.Attention-
deficit/hyperactivity disorder and ethnicity.Arch. Dis.
Child., 90(supp1):i10–i12, 2005.

[21] S. V Faraoneet al.Molecular genetics of attention-
deficit/hyperactivitydisorder.Biol.Psychiatry,
57(11):1313–1323, 2005.
[22] J. Biederman and S. V Faraone. Attention-deficit hyper-
activity disorder.Lancet, 366(9481):237–248, 2005.
[23] A. Hjern, G. R. Weitoft, and F. Lindblad. Social adver-
sity predicts adhdmedication in school childrena national
cohort study.Acta Paediatr., 99(6):920924, 2010.
[24] F. A. Torviket al.Mechanisms linking parental educa-
tional attainment with child adhd, depression, and aca-
demic problems: a study of extended families in the nor-
wegian mother, father and child cohort study.J. Child
Psychol. Psychiatry, 2020.
[25] H. Bella. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd):
Is it a health problem among male primary school chil-
dren.Bahrain Med Bull, 30(2):67–71, 2008.
[26] M. D ̈opfner, D. Breuer, N. Wille, M. Erhart, U. Ravens-
Sieberer, and B. S. Group. How often do children meet
icd-10/dsm-iv criteria of attention deficit-/hyperactivity
disorder and hyperkinetic disorder? parent-based preva-
lence rates in a national sampleresults of the bella study.
Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 17(1):59–70, 2008.
[27] A. E. Russell, T. Ford, and G. Russell.Socioeconomic
associations with adhd: findings from a mediation anal-
ysis.PLoS One, 10(6):e0128248, 2015.
[28] D. Daley and J. Birchwood.Adhd and academic per-
formance:why does adhd impact on academic perfor-
mance and what can be done to support adhd children
in the classroom?Child. Care. Health Dev., 36(4):455–
464, 2010.
[29] K. Afeti and S. H. Nyarko.Prevalence and effect of
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on school perfor-
mance among primary school pupils in the hohoe munic-
ipality, ghana.Ann. Gen. Psychiatry, 16(1):11, 2016.
[30] T. E. Brown.Adhd comorbidities: Handbook for adhd
complications in children and adults.American Psychi-
atric Pub, 2009.

Article View: 16
PDF Download: 14