Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30185215›Full record

SynthesisItalian journal of pediatrics2018

ADHD prevalence estimates in Italian children and adolescents: a methodological issue.

Laura Reale, Maurizio Bonati

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Italian journal of pediatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Laura RealeLaboratory for Mother and Child Health, Department of Public Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via G. La Masa 19, 20156, Milan, Italy.
Maurizio BonatiLaboratory for Mother and Child Health, Department of Public Health, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via G. La Masa 19, 20156, Milan, Italy. maurizio.bonati@marionegri.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3997-3726

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is recognized as the most common, and most studied, developmental age disorder. Basic information, such as the most appropriate case definition and the best way to evaluate the disorder's prevalence rate, however, remains an open issue.

methodsA comprehensive meta-analysis on the epidemiology of ADHD in Italy, which was lacking from the literature, was therefore performed to attempt to estimate the actual prevalence rate of ADHD, highlighting conceptual and quantitative differences between clinical-diagnosis and survey-based symptoms studies. The Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO databases, and the grey literature, were searched up to January 2018. The review was laid out in three main sections: an overall prevalence estimate, an epidemiological profile of ADHD symptoms, and an attempt to define the actual rate of ADHD diagnosis, as emerged from Italian studies.

resultsA total of 15 unique studies were included. These contributed to estimating the prevalence of ADHD in 67,838 subjects aged 5-17, representing 9 of the 20 regions (45%) of Italy. Overall, the pooled prevalence of ADHD was 2.9% (range: 1.1-16.7%). When distinguishing studies based on case definition, however, we found an average prevalence estimate, based on symptoms criteria, of 5.9% (range: 1.4 to 16.7%) and a best-estimate prevalence rate of 1.4% (range: 1.1 to 3.1%).

conclusionsFollowing the case definition for epidemiological studies of ADHD, counting only subjects with an ADHD diagnosis performed and confirmed by clinical assessment would reduce the wide variability in prevalence estimates, and, above all, would both describe the real rate of subjects suffering from ADHD disorder and avoid misdiagnosis.

Indexed as

Child WelfareMental HealthAdolescentAge DistributionAttention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansItalyMalePrevalenceSeverity of Illness IndexSex DistributionAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorderItalyMethodologyPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID30185215
PMCPMC6126024

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.