What percentage of people really have ADD | ADHD Information

GPK - I hate to argue it - but I think you CAN say what ADHD is - and that getting real, quantatative numbers on how many are far from meaningless!

The tests for ADHD are getting better and better. The professionals in the business of psychology are becoming more familiar with the disorder and the ways to treat it now.

I know that it's all early in the biz to say much - but to call it anything but certain that it's real and biologically rooted is not being fair to the ones here who deal with it.

That's my look at it anyway.

DAVE
Bad parenting can cause symptoms, though ADHD symptoms does not mean bad parenting! Why can't environment cause symptoms?
Because for yall parents it is too scary to think it could be your fault?!

As much as we all say that ADHD is REAL, meaning that we believe that there is some kind of difference in ADHD brains/nervous systems, none of us have actually looked at our own brains and said- We see the difference. We know that our case is organic, not environmental.

Until we know what's up physically, why all the ruling out of uncomfortable subjects?
GarbagePailKid38557.7487384259

[QUOTE=GarbagePailKid]DAVE
Bad parenting can cause symptoms, though ADHD symptoms does not mean bad parenting! Why can't environment cause symptoms?
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Ok - let's straighten out ONE fact: Bad parenting can cause some ADHD symptoms - but not all at once. So can hyper/hypothyroidism, manic/bipolar depression, etc.

When an MD and psychiatrist diagnose either a child OR adult with ADHD symptoms they must look at physiology, behaviour, history and family dynamics before ever giving a diagnosis. When we first discover we may have ADHD it's a preliminary guess - not a diagnosis. We can't just say "I / my kid/spouse have ADHD." It's too complex to leave it there. Could someone say - "eez I pee a lot, pass out without eating and my kidneys hurt - gee whiz I have diabetes so I'd better go buy some insulin". No we get a qualified professional to take tests.

I hate to sound glib - or cynical but I hear everyone taking sides so often - it's gotta be environment, or genes, or family, whatever. The point is we'd best stick to the best advice - get to a professional before anything else. If they give an answer that seems hurried or inaccurate then go to another. It's just too important a decision to be guessing. Not to mention - the other reasons for things like forgetfulness, hyper/hypoactivity, lack of self control can be some other, equally serious illnesses - some of them curable with very simple means and some not.

Facts are still coming in. I'm sure it's not abuse - as I led about the most non-abusive childhood there can be in north america and I still came out with severe ADHD. They now have found a gene for dopamine that seems to be part of the problem. It's only been seen recently so more study must be done. We all know that when we have it - it's more than just councilling/diet/herbs can deal with.

One last thing. I think some of the ill will at people doing self-diagnosis of ADHD is the fact the press has pretty much dealt with only the hyperactivity and lack of concentration as the sole symptoms of this. ADHD is a cluster of symptoms - and if these people are just forgetful or bored or hyper then they aren't one of us. I have so many places in my world wrecked by ADHD - and most of us do as well. Some have led normal lives outward, or inward, but hardly ever both. Some like myself neither.

I like most here are tired of hearing people say ADHD is a fad, or a pseudo illness, or something that could be overcome by willpower or hard work. I also get tired of people who claim it's an allergy, trauma, poisining or malnutrition. Jury is out on the total picture but I think we know the basics by now. The whole picture I predict will be here soon - very soon maybe.

I just read this paragraph in an article:

ADHD affects about 3 percent to 10 percent of American children. Based on limited data, an estimated 2 to 4 percent of American adults have ADHD. ADHD typically appears between ages 4 and 7. An estimated 67 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD will continue to have clinically significant symptoms of ADHD into adulthood. The condition appears to affect two to three times more males than females. Researchers have hypothesized that girls may not be diagnosed with ADHD as often as boys due to cultural differences regarding behavioral expectations for boys and girls.

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Researchers have hypothesized that girls may not be diagnosed with ADHD as often as boys due to cultural differences regarding behavioral expectations for boys and girls.

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I've read this as well. Not altogether sure if they are right at this point - but geneticists usually add when they find genetic markers that most of our genes will lead to us being likely to get something or not - that environment fills in the gaps that genes lead us to. For example - they've just found a gene that leads to higher rates of addiction in general - but add that it will not tell us IF you will become addicted or what to - only that you will be more likely to become addicted sometime in life to something.

Also, I'd bet that there are more than one gene involved in ADHD- since there are so many ways for it to manifest in us. Perhaps there is a gene on the Y chromasome that increases the risks of ADHD? We'll find out soon I'd bet. I'm very excited with the last months' genetic information on ADHD and am watching it with great hope.

Hmmm, do you feel this way

Your not ADD, I am, because you all say you are, you make my diagnosis less because you are treating a serious problem lightly and giving it a trivial feeling. Now everyone is going to think I am exagerating because obviously its not a big deal because half of everyone has it and functions.

Arent we just doing to them what we hate to have done to us. Saying your not ADD, you just need more disapline. Now, I have ADHD. The truth is, I think there is many problems that mask behind adhd, Depression, bipolar depression,As, Brain injury, Lyme,abuse and a bunch of others. You noticed I don't list bad parenting or personal control. If you feel your child or yourself can't control themselves properly, your most likey 99% right. But why is what they should be asking, there is allot of things that cause this, not just a blanket ADHD.

A lot of people DO think they might have ADHD. I think you can blame the ads by the pharmaceutical companies which basically are aiming the ads to adults who want to get more focus and become higher achievers. Psychology Today magazine has done an article this spring where they talked about the debate on whether or not it's ethical for MDs to prescribe our meds to normal students, workers and everyday people who just want that "edge". It's big money people.

I've heard anywhere from 2.5 to upwards of 10 percent of adults in north america estimated at having mild to severe ADHD so who really knows? I seem to be the only one who has never met another diagnosed ADHD adult around me. I've been trying to start a local meeting group but haven't found anybody! I just can't believe we Canadians are THAT healthy! LOL

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[QUOTE=shock]Some people hear the symptoms and say, "yep, that's me I do that every once in a while". That doesn't count. I feel that it's not ADHD or ADD unless it causes problems in your life. Everyone on this site would say that it causes problems in their life...or it use to.
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what is your definition of problems though. Everyone struggles in their own way... Is having had 9 jobs in 10 years including four years unemployment a problem? But then it is nothing if you compare it to some problems others have... it is all so relative. Everyone has their own kind of trouble, and with regard to typical add problems I suppose people do learn to compensate, so mostly I have the impression that others think it doesnt cause too many problems, but then again, I seem to be far from normal, and avoid many things that could cause problems.

But like the terribly untidy room. It is my trade mark. It causes problems for me because I am acutely embarassed about it, it makes me stressed to be in an area with too much clutter, but oh well banter banter rant, I can't remember what I am trying to point out here anymore

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What I meant is that ADDers have problems focusing and remembering and all that other fun stuff that ADD causes. This creates problems in school and work far greater then most "normal" people experience.
everyone is always pulling their hair over the "is it real, are they for real" stuff.

I benefit enormously from the meds and the focus on my shortcomings that being diagnosed has brought me. I don't care if it's "real" or if other people really have it. Questions will always circle about us - I keep my mouth shut about it in real life and motor on.
it's real. that's the bottom line. i told my psychiatrist that adult add sounds like some fake excuse and she told me "if it was fake then you wouldn't have these problems, right?" i got her point. 50%, no way. !!!!!!!!!11

If 50% of people had ADHD, that would mean that the majority of us humans are totally struggling with many aspects of life because of the symptoms. Airlines would shut down. Buildings would crumble. There would be nothing on TV. The only thing that would run would be...Mardi Gras.. maybe lol.
Maybe it sounds like I am putting down ADHD. Sorry to all of you out there, but there is a difference between an ADHD like personality, and ADHD as disorder. Maybe lots of people are impulsive or dreamy. If 50% of us were suffering from the disorder, and a disorder has to cause suffering, or else it's just another order, we humans would seriously need to get together and evaluate what we have done wrong as a species, that the majority can not cope with its own constructs.
Just about everybody procrastinates sometimes, everybody makes a stupid impulsive decision now and then, everybody has trouble doing things they think are boring...to an extent.
Not that many people are so completely crippled by these kinds of things, and can't snap out of it when it is necessary. Until doctors can look at pictures of your brain and tell you what's up with it before you give them hints, until the boundaries between normal and ADHD are established in a more reliable way than a questionnaire, maybe it is more useful not to ask whether someone has ADHD, but instead to see whether the person needs treatments and/or accommodations, and what kinds. It is easy for someone at a party to look like they have ADHD without having anything. Just jump on a table or something and you'll be kind of wild looking...ADHD looking... But the next day you'll have a briefcase with all the right papers in it, your keys in the right place, all prepared and organized...ready to sit still and focused at work or school. You turn off the stove. I doubt that "over 50%" of people are so dehabilitated by adhd symptoms that it can be called a disorder...

Way to say, GaPaKi,

In ADDition to what floogoo said "All we could know is the percentage of people who believe that ADD/ADHD affects their lives."

I would ADD: We could also empirically know how many people are being prescribed AD/HD mxRxs, by some market intellegence executed on the prescribing population, or the manufacturing sector. I bet someone's done it. But, like floo sayeth, how does that really help us?

[QUOTE=floofthegoof]Nobody is certain what ADHD really is. Any percentage that one could come up with would be meaningless speculation at this point.[/QUOTE]

Floof! Couldn't have said it better! There I was trying to figure out why that percentage was off, rambling nonsense, speculations, long posts to cover uncertainty, and you NAILED it in ONE SENTENCE. Thank you very much buddyroooo!! You rock.

[QUOTE=GarbagePailKid]GlenW

It is possible to get real quantitative numbers on how many people believe they have ADHD. Just set your surveys up right, and ask.

It is not yet possible to get real quantitative numbers on how many people actually have these symptoms because of messed up neurotransmitters and the like. Your ADHD could be a completely different disorder than mine. Some of us can just be stressed out hypochondriacs. Some of us may have fallen on our heads. We don't know.

Self diagnosis is pretty much the same as diagnosis by a professional, being that if you bring your self diagnosis to a professional, and that professional likes to diagnos, you are likely to be diagnosed. If you go to a second physician who does not like to diagnos, you might not be diagnosed. A disorder whose bounds are so fluid and interperetive can not be quantitative.

When you have a sore throat, you can not just say "I have strep" and down some pennicillin. You say that you have symptoms of strep, and get a throat culture. Maybe you have the flu. Maybe you have allergies. If there was no strep test, it would be very difficult to determine how many people had strep at a given time.

I do not mean to be unfair to people who deal with it. I know that the symptoms are real and dehabilitating. I experience that firsthand. I sympathize with others who go through the same kinds of experiences.

Yet, I still don't know whether these people here who I completely feel for have the same condition. For the sake of ease in communication, let's call it ADHD. Let's help each other out and give each other advice, because we all need help and advice. Beyond that, numbers just won't cut it.

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Good points! All we could know is the percentage of people who believe that ADD affects their lives. How does that really help us?

GlenW

It is possible to get real quantitative numbers on how many people believe they have ADHD. Just set your surveys up right, and ask.

It is not yet possible to get real quantitative numbers on how many people actually have these symptoms because of messed up neurotransmitters and the like. Your ADHD could be a completely different disorder than mine. Some of us can just be stressed out hypochondriacs. Some of us may have fallen on our heads. We don't know.

Self diagnosis is pretty much the same as diagnosis by a professional, being that if you bring your self diagnosis to a professional, and that professional likes to diagnos, you are likely to be diagnosed. If you go to a second physician who does not like to diagnos, you might not be diagnosed. A disorder whose bounds are so fluid and interperetive can not be quantitative.

When you have a sore throat, you can not just say "I have strep" and down some pennicillin. You say that you have symptoms of strep, and get a throat culture. Maybe you have the flu. Maybe you have allergies. If there was no strep test, it would be very difficult to determine how many people had strep at a given time.

I do not mean to be unfair to people who deal with it. I know that the symptoms are real and dehabilitating. I experience that firsthand. I sympathize with others who go through the same kinds of experiences.

Yet, I still don't know whether these people here who I completely feel for have the same condition. For the sake of ease in communication, let's call it ADHD. Let's help each other out and give each other advice, because we all need help and advice. Beyond that, numbers just won't cut it.

All good points, but considrer these:

Depends on where you are. [ ] = "concentration or rate" of AD/HD

[Europe] < [England] < [Eastern Seaboard] < [Midwest] < [West Coast]

AD/HDers historically tend to be unsettled westerly explorerers/pioneers, pointmen. Plus we kept getting pushed out of where we were becuase of our ideas, or they couldn't handle our pace.

The U.S. rate of AD/HD is ~4% to 5%, with Europe being <~0.2%. Although I have not seen the U.S. stats broken up into regions in any published documents, it is my understanding that the Pacific Ocean has acted as a migratory barrier to the westerly movement of the AD/HD population. Therefore, anywhere along the creativity belt of the west coast you would expect to find a greater [] of AD/HDers than elsewhere. In this respect, then, 50% also would SEEM to be too high a [] to explain with this model.

However, keep in mind another principle that human beings are social animals, and have a propensity to aggregate with one another according to their views / skills / kinds. Therefore, 50% is a very believable [] rate for AD/HDers in a community situation. I'd say it may even be on the lower side of an exepected rate in a western community. I've been in situations where 80% of the congregants were AD/HD, without having preplanned it. Like attracts like.

This is usually not a good situation for business or families, as too many AD/HDers can ruin the cake. I've found that when I hire people that will assist me, I carefully calculate the AD/HD rate (need creativity to support mine around the clock) with other personality traits (e.g. detailed completers), in order to get a vast amount of work done. Once I had a team of 5 managers beneath me running all the ideas / departments I was responsible for. None of them were AD/HD.

On the other hand, it does seem that normals can't keep up with us (e.g. a conversation), so I end up surrounding myself with AD/HDers in order to have a social life. Or do a lot of stuff alone.

Hang in there, you'll cope. You have already, you know. A lifetime of coping. Now you just know what you are coping for.

Regards,

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! ADD/ADHD posers piss me off! They trivialize a very serious problem. It's like a slap in the face for people who really do have it!

A tad off topic? Maybe but here's an interesting powerpoint presentation on the human brain I've found. It's cool - and simple enough for those of us who shy from techno-babble. Has some interesting info on chemistry, etc.

http://namiohio.org/BRAINforweb.ppt

I think you need powerpoint viewer or office - but not sure.

Hope it's interesting to all of you too!

[QUOTE=Russ]I'm not sure if it is the "pop fad" disability of the 21st Century or they simply are making excuses for behavior.

My concern is that this "fad" behavior diminishes the problem so much those that really have it and are medicated for it, get lost in the shuffle. Even worse, as all these people claim ownership to this "fad," ADHD/ADD becomes almost a cocktail party joke and loses credibility as an honest disability.
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Funny you should mention the "pop fad" thing... a friend of mine was recently visiting an aquaintance who has a 4 year old. My friend, who doubted my ADD very much in the beginning, and now we don't really talk about it at all, started talking about this person's 4 year old. She was shaking her head, talking about how disruptive he was, and then blurted out, "that kid must have major ADH - " (at this point she caught what she was saying and her eyes shot up to meet mine) " - D...." She looked embarrassed for a fraction of a second, and then tried to justify why she had said that: "he was all over the place, he didn't shut up for half a second, he wouldn't listen, and he just refused to sit still". I merely shrugged and said "who knows", because I honestly didn't feel like getting into a big discussion about it.

But, I mean, really.... an active 4-year old who doesn't listen to his parents must automatically have ADHD?

[QUOTE=Angry mom]I saw 7-15 % of kids have it. Thoughtfulhouse is where it was posted. [/QUOTE]

Was on NIMH's ADHD page - they estimate 4.1% youths ages 9-17. I think that's more in range of reality. The pharmaceuticals will undercut - the antimeds will overblow. I've heard from US census's from 2001 that estimates totals like 2.5 million total people all ages in US start meds that year. That's less than 1 percent right? and - according to the poll 2001 was less people starting than year before! Also, psychology today mentioned that most people that end up on the census as taking meds end up dropping them soon after. Side effects, lack of efficacy etc.

I just wish that during arguments on pro/anti meds people would just take a deep breath, and take it logically and make it a good sensible argument.

Anyways I got the references above (after having to scroll through hundreds of propaganda pages disguised as real stats) from US government and Nat. institute of mental health pages. If you'd like them msg. me and I'll forward it to ya!

Most of the time I play the outsider role at many social gatherings and simply listen and observe. What I've found is an incredibly high number of people believe they or their children have ADD/ADHD. I'm not sure if it is the "pop fad" disability of the 21st Century or they simply are making excuses for behavior.

My concern is that this "fad" behavior diminishes the problem so much those that really have it and are medicated for it, get lost in the shuffle. Even worse, as all these people claim ownership to this "fad," ADHD/ADD becomes almost a cocktail party joke and loses credibility as an honest disability.

I tell few that I am medicated for ADHD. And in truth, sometimes it is almost embarrassing for me to have to listen to parent after parent proclaim "my kid has ADHD!!!!" and use it as an excuse for other problems the child may have.

Russ38554.3055092593If half the people at the party had ADD, then either A: all those ADD people were friends and gravitated toward one another, or B: ADD is now a fad with kids. It would be a shame for B. because a lot of us struggle just to actually make it out the door with matching socks on everyday.

I'm afraid you are at least partially right Reizende. I've read in psychology today that many people are using our drugs to "enhance" normal life. They masquerade as ADD - maybe even convince themselves of it. Their high priced psychologists consult with their high-priced MDs to authorize the meds without proper diagnosis. That, and street purchases from teens who don't want to take them and sell them off make our reputation even worse.

I would say though that it's said that ADD meds and therapy are focused on mid to upper north american/west europe society. Your chances of finding like-afflicted people there are much much higher than any other place. Could happen I guess if you are at an event that other ADD'ers would like to go to.

Anything's possible. I just don't ever want to be at a party of "posers" I guess.

Blah

Some people hear the symptoms and say, "yep, that's me I do that every once in a while". That doesn't count. I feel that it's not ADHD or ADD unless it causes problems in your life. Everyone on this site would say that it causes problems in their life...or it use to.

I'm really not sure.

Things aren't black and white on the issue. Many people have characteristics of ADHD, but not enough to significantly impair their lives or fulfill diagnostic criteria. I think only people whose lives are significantly impaired by ADHD symptoms should be counted as being ADHD, but it's not easy to draw a line that separates ADHD from non-ADHD.

At the party you went to, 50% seems awfully high, but keep in mind that there were only 11 people there, and that's not enough people to calculate an accurate percentage (sometimes when you flip a coin, you get 20 heads in a row, but that doesn't mean the chance of getting heads is 100%)

I know a high percentage of my friends have ADHD (25%), but that is because I tend to get along well with people that are ADHD. In my experience, I'd say about 5% of people I know have been diagnosed.

Just curious, I go to a private 4 year college, and I was at a party a few weeks ago. Of the 11 people at the party, 6 of them claimed they were diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. This doesn't seem right to me. Over 50% of them claim to have ADD.

Anyways, I do think most people have ADD to one extent or another, but are psychiatrists just giving anyone who with a less then perfect memory an ADD dianosis nowadays?

I've read that 3-5% of the adult population may have ADD. That's certainly nowhere near 50%, obviously!

However, it seems that folks with ADD sometimes naturally gravitate together and become friends. Were those people all friends already, or did they just meet at the party? If they'd all just met, then, well, that's quite the coincidence.
INTP is part of the Myers-Briggs personality indicators. There is some correlation between ADHD symptoms and INTPers. Believe there was a poll on this site a few months back. May still be on the board.[QUOTE=Russ] [QUOTE=Davidornado]

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I enjoyed your post and tend to agree. I would offer that the explorers and point men may have had personality type INTP tendencies and not necessarily ADHD. I understand there is correlation between the two (I'm INTP, strong I, strong T).

I also agree that likes can attract likes, however the close friends in my life have not been ADHDers, but have been I--N/S--T--J/P. As I consider it, only one had symptoms of ADHD, but he's never been diagnosed.

My observation in "typical" social gatherings has been when ADD/ADHD is mentioned the percentage of those claiming ownership is much too high. The subject BTW, is rarely introduced by me. "Typical" means not necessarily a gathering of friends or like-minded people. I've seen ADHD/ADD claimed by up to 70% of those at a gathering, with none medicated.

This last Saturday night the subject of ADHD came up at a party and 3 of 19 people claimed they had ADHD or ADD. I was the 4th person that claimed it, but the only one medicated. One woman said almost giddily, "I must get tested for it as I knoooowwww I have it!!!!!!"

As mentioned in a previous post, my experience has been our society seems to have made ADD/ADHD the pop fad of the 21st Century, diluting its credibility and making things tougher for those that are actually suffering. It's one reason I rarely mention I have it or I am medicated for it, because it seems few understand or care how seriously it can impact a person's life.

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That's a new one to me. What's INTP? I've been dx'd for 8 years now. The common denom treatment has been methylphenidate in one form or another. They keep trying other psychotropes, to some avail.

I agree that it is a pop fad this as well, an easy dx with an easy rx. LIke Prozac was a decade ago.

As the last time I checked published statistics was several years ago, perhaps someone should check into it and see if there are trends developing that we aren't aware of, or support our hypothesis.

Nobody is certain what ADHD really is. Any percentage that one could come up with would be meaningless speculation at this point. [QUOTE=Davidornado]

I tend to think more and more as I go along here that the easiest way to tell if they have ADHD or not is that most of us are not really happy to admit it!! I mean, it's not something we are most of us proud of and broadcast it when not necessary.

Also, I've noticed that many of us are like me - and tend to avoid too many people at a time (eg. parties LOL), and would prefer people we know better like close friends, fellow workers, etc.

Perhaps it's chic to have a illness now. It was like that when prozac came out - all of a sudden all these people were telling me they MUST be depressed - and they all told me with a smile on their faces! Irony at its' best I feel.

I think we all know that ADHD while it's not THAT rare - is much rarer than what we hear at gatherings. I personally have not met anyone in my area willing to admit they have ADHD - but a few people that I've confessed that I have ADHD have privately asked me about symptoms in concern for their loved ones they feel may have it.

I don't get into social circles much - it's something I have to work on. But if it's full of posers wanting to "steal my thunder" uh huh, then maybe I don't want it! I will always be willing to explain what my story is and what I've been through, but I'd rather not hear others who I know are far too normal to be ADHD tell me how they MUST be ADHD. That would be too much!

GlenW38558.3275810185I saw 7-15 % of kids have it. Thoughtfulhouse is where it was posted.