Ethnic and regional differences in primary care visits for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

The ethnic and regional differences in primary care visits for children regarding the frequency of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses, stimulant prescriptions, and other mental health diagnoses were examined. The authors analyzed 6 years (1995-2000) of data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and found that an ADHD diagnosis and/or a stimulant prescription were less likely to be recorded during visits by Hispanic-American youths relative to visits by white-American youths. The authors also found that stimulant prescriptions were given more frequently for visits of children with ADHD in the south and west than in the northeast. Finally, no ethnic differences were found in the likelihood of receiving a psychotropic medication once an ADHD diagnosis was given or receiving a mental health diagnosis other than ADHD. Ethnic disparities in primary mental health care appear to exist for ADHD and not for other mental disorders pooled together.