CDC stats reveals startling number of people with ADHD in America compared to other countries

One in 16 adults in the US are living with ADHD, according to a new CDC report.

It found 15.5m people over 18 had the condition (6 percent), which as a percentage is much higher than other countries like the UK, where approximately 4.4 percent of adults have the disorder, or Germany, where it’s 3 percent.

The new report was the first national estimate of ADHD in adults in decades, so CDC spokesperson said they can’t confirm whether diagnoses have been increasing. 

But experts told DailyMail.com what they see in their clinics is clear: more people are coming in to get checked out and ADHD diagnoses are overall increasing. 

This has to do with a number of factors – including misdiagnoses in childhood- experts tell DM.com. Separate figures show that one in seven Americans under 18 are diagnosed with the condition, which likewise is far higher than peer nations. 

Dr Justin Barterian, a psychologist at The Ohio State University told DailyMail.com: ‘I do think that the number of people seeking diagnosis has increased, which has resulted in more diagnoses.’ 

They suggest that this has to do with a number of factors including: the explosion oft telehealth making it easier to get tested for ADHD, increased awareness about the disorder through social media influencers and adults who become curious after seeing their children get diagnosed with the condition.

Across the world, approximately two to five percent of adults deal with ADHD, and the US tends to rank at the high end. 

In Canada, estimates put the rate between 4 and 6 percent – whereas in Germany and Denmark rates are about 3 percent. The most recent French estimates are about 5.5 percent. 

The new data comes from the National Center for Health Statistics Rapid Surveys System, which calls people at their homes and asks them to self report on their health data. 

Their aim is to get a large enough and diverse enough sample to reflect the demographic makeup of the US. 

Prior to this report, estimated rates current ADHD in adults relied on data from 2003. 

However, older reports have found that prescriptions for ADHD drugs’ like Adderall have been steadily increasing. 41 million prescriptions were filled in 2021. 

At the same time, Dr Barterian said he and his colleagues have seen an influx of new patients seeking ADHD testing. He said in other clinics, doctors have had patients have to wait for months before being tested. 

Their report did define more specifics about what life is like for individuals living with ADHD. More than half of these individuals we’re diagnosed as children. 

Approximately 62 percent of all cases are in people currently age 25-49. 

It found that one third of those people – about 5 million – use medications like Adderall to control their symptoms. But 71.5 percent of people reported difficulty filling their prescription, largely thanks to worker shortages at pharmaceutical manufacturers. 

Dr Barterian said that this affected patients in his clinic – who then struggled to perform at work, focus in school or even get household chores done.  

Still, there are the 36 percent of individuals who seek no treatment at all for their diagnosis. 

Adderall prescriptions have steadily increased over the last 12 years. The figures include prescriptions for both Adderall, brand and generic, in the U.S.

Though the CDC report seemed in line with what doctors are experiencing in the clinic, Dr Barterian cautioned that using a self-reported survey could cause some errors in the data. 

For example, someone could’ve answered that they had ADHD when they had yet to confirm that diagnosis with a doctor. Or, someone with ADHD could’ve left that information out when answering the survey. 

This means that the numbers found here could be higher or lower than we know. 

Dr Rebecca Mannis, a learning specialist who studied neuropsychology and helps coach people with learning challenges like ADHD and dyslexia, told DailyMail.com that this condition is likely ticking up in adults because their diagnosis was missed when they were younger. 

‘ADHD is over diagnosed and under diagnosed,’ she said. This means that there are some people who were diagnosed with the condition when they could’ve had some other condition – like autism or anxiety. 

But others yet get ignored still, if they’re good enough at coping with their symptoms and passing under the radar. 

These people, who avoid detection as kids, sometimes develop bigger problems focusing or managing tasks as adults, who then end up coming into her office, where she helps coach them to learn time management skills.