ArticleBMJ evidence-based medicine2019
Determinants of inter-practice variation in ADHD diagnosis and stimulant prescribing: cross-sectional database study of a national surveillance network.
Article in BMJ evidence-based medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Individual child factors affecting the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents: a systematic review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Time of onset and/or diagnosis of ADHD in European children: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Decreased attention in 10- and 14-month-olds with neurofibromatosis type 1 and association with later ADHD traits.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2026Article
- The Effect of Different Algorithms on Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Secondary Healthcare Data in Five European Countries: A Contribution from the ConcePTION Project.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic status and prescribing of ADHD medications: a study of ICB-level data in England.BMJ mental health · 2025Observational
- Rates of family history of autism and ADHD varies with recruitment approach and socio-economic status.The British journal of developmental psychology · 2024Article
- Geographic variation and sociodemographic correlates of prescription psychotropic drug use among children and youth in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Age-related clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with ADHD.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Adult ADHD Positive Screening and Sibship, Birth Order and Academic Achievement: Implications for Epidemiologists and Physicians in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- Effect of short-term methylphenidate on social impairment in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: systematic review.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2022Review
- Excess mortality in the first COVID pandemic peak: cross-sectional analyses of the impact of age, sex, ethnicity, household size, and long-term conditions in people of known SARS-CoV-2 status in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Article
- Household presentation of influenza and acute respiratory illnesses to a primary care sentinel network: retrospective database studies (2013-2018).BMC public health · 2020Article
- Disparities in the excess risk of mortality in the first wave of COVID-19: Cross sectional study of the English sentinel network.The Journal of infection · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Early recognition, identification and treatment of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can reduce detrimental outcomes and redirect their developmental trajectory. We aimed to describe variations in age of ADHD diagnosis and stimulant prescribing among general practitioner practices in a nationwide network and identify child, parental, household and general practice factors that might account for these variations. Cross-sectional study of children aged under 19 years registered within a general practice in the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) network in 2016, RCGP RSC has a household key allowing parent and child details to be linked. Data from 158 general practices and 353 774 children under 19 were included. The mean age of first ADHD diagnosis was 10.5 years (95% CI 10.1 to 10.9, median 10, IQR 9.0-11.9) and the mean percentage of children with ADHD prescribed stimulant medications among RCGP RSC practices was 41.2% (95% CI 38.7 to 43.6). There was wide inter-practice variation in the prevalence of diagnosis of ADHD, the age of diagnosis and stimulant prescribing. ADHD diagnosis is more likely to be made later in households with a greater number of children and with a larger age difference between adults and children. Stimulant prescribing for children with ADHD was higher in less deprived practices. Older parents and families with more children fail to recognise ADHD and may need more support. Practices in areas of higher socio-economic status are associated with greater prescribing of stimulants for children with ADHD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.