Pattern of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among primary school children in Ile-Ife, South-West, Nigeria

One of the most common neurodevelopmental problems affecting behavior of children all over the world is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Studies on ADHD prevalence in Africa used either parents' or teachers' disruptive behavioral disorder rating scale (DBDRS) to diagnose ADHD, but this study diagnose ADHD using both parents and teachers DBDRS simultaneously among primary school pupils in Ile-Ife.

The study was conducted among 1,385 primary school pupils in Ile-Ife using multistage random sampling. The parents' and teachers' DBDRS were used simultaneously to screen children who had ADHD.

Sixty-five (4.7%) of the pupils had ADHD. Among the 65 pupils with ADHD, 28 (43%) had the inattentive subtype, 25 (38.5%) had the combined subtype, whereas 12 (18.5%) had hyperactive/impulsive subtype. The prevalence of ADHD was significantly higher in the younger age group than the older age groups (χ² = 7.153, P = 0.007). There was no significant association found between the prevalence of ADHD and the social class (χ² = 3.852, P = 0.146).

ADHD prevalence of 4.7% was found among the children in Ile-Ife. Assessment of children for ADHD was done by parents at home and teachers in the school with DBDRS. The inattentive subtype was the most common and the hyperactive subtype was the least seen in the study. Early diagnosis and treatment of this disorder will bring better outcome in the children.