--- title: One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD description: A new study says that 10% of U.S. kids have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), up from 6% two decades ago. canonical: https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-31T15:00:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:18:02.198Z article:section: Health og:title: One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD og:description: Up from 6% two decades ago og:url: https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fd4af5512b8b300/698939147cdbac4e0ad5dcf7/adhd-diagnosis-rates.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Primary schoolboy and girls doing schoolwork at classroom desks, rear view og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD twitter:description: Up from 6% two decades ago twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fd4af5512b8b300/698939147cdbac4e0ad5dcf7/adhd-diagnosis-rates.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 31, 2018 3:00 PM CUT  Sydney Bourne—Getty Images/Cultura RF  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Aug 31, 2018 3:00 PM CUT One in 10 U.S. children has been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), [according to the latest federal data](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1471 "undefined")**.** The findings, which were published Friday in _JAMA Network Open_, suggest that ADHD — which is characterized by consistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity — is being diagnosed more frequently than it was even two decades ago. About 6% of U.S. children ages 4 to 17 had been diagnosed with ADHD in 1997-1998, compared to 10.2% in 2015-2016, according to the paper. The researchers tracked these changes by analyzing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), in which parents answer questions about their kids’ health. Over the 20-year study period, the NHIS collected ADHD data for about 186,500 children between ages 4 and 17. The 2015-2016 responses reflected increases in reported ADHD diagnoses across demographics, compared to responses tabulated in 1997-1998\. But the latest data also revealed a number of current disparities in diagnosis rates. ADHD diagnoses were far more common among boys than girls in 2015-2016: 14% versus 6.3%. Diagnoses also got more common as age increased; 13.5% of kids ages 12 to 17 had a diagnosis, compared to 7.7% of kids ages 4 to 11\. Finally, ADHD diagnoses were most common among black children (12.8%), followed by white (12%) and [Hispanic (6.1%) children](http://time.com/4140590/adhd-rates-hispanics/ "undefined"). It’s not entirely clear why these disparities exist, or [why ADHD diagnoses are on the rise](http://time.com/3595712/the-5-trends-driving-the-surge-in-adhd/ "undefined") overall. But the study suggests that heightened awareness of the condition and changing diagnostic criteria may partially explain the higher numbers. Better access to care and [weakening stigmas around mental health](http://time.com/4342089/mental-health-awareness/ "undefined") care, particularly among minority populations, may have also led to more diagnoses, the authors write. But other research has also suggested that environmental factors ranging from chemical exposure to maternal substance use may contribute to the development of ADHD, according to the paper. A separate _JAMA_ study published in July also suggested that rampant [technology use among U.S. adolescents](http://time.com/5341707/screen-use-adhd-study/ "undefined") may be contributing to rising ADHD rates. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/"},"headline":"One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD","datePublished":"2018-08-31T15:00:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:18:02.198Z","description":"Up from 6% two decades ago","url":"https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/","keywords":["Research","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fd4af5512b8b300/698939147cdbac4e0ad5dcf7/adhd-diagnosis-rates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fd4af5512b8b300/698939147cdbac4e0ad5dcf7/adhd-diagnosis-rates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Primary schoolboy and girls doing schoolwork at classroom desks, rear view","caption":"Primary schoolboy and girls doing schoolwork at classroom desks, rear view","creditText":"Sydney Bourne—Getty Images/Cultura RF","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5382694/adhd-diagnosis-rates/","name":"One in 10 U.S. Kids Has Been Diagnosed with ADHD"}}]}] ```