ArticleEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2023
Geographical variation in ADHD: do diagnoses reflect symptom levels?
Article in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- 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
- Regional Variation in ADHD Treatment and Diagnosis Among Children and Adolescents in Denmark.Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Children's psychological traits and educational performance: How schools and residential areas moderate how individual traits translate into academic outcomes.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Psychiatric diagnosis on the edge: is there evidence of benefit?European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Variation in Rates of ADHD Diagnoses Across Public Schools in Arkansas.Journal of attention disorders · 2026Article
- Parental wealth and mental disorders in Norway (2006-2023): a nationwide registry-based study of 1.4 million young people.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- The Norwegian Adult Mental Health Registry for Quality Control in Specialized Mental Health Services: Protocol for a Nationwide Naturalistic Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- County-level variation and trajectories in ADHD medication dispensing among Norwegian children and adolescents, 2005-2022: a nationwide prescription register study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- ADHD in Adulthood: Clinical Presentation, Comorbidities, and Treatment Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Catchment area characteristics do not account for geographical variation in ADHD diagnoses.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Review
- Off-label use of psychotropic drugs in youth.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Neurodevelopmental Tics with Co-Morbid Functional Tic-like Behaviors: Diagnostic Challenges of a Complex Tourette Syndrome Phenotype.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Incidence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Between 2016 and 2023: A Retrospective Cohort.Psychiatric research and clinical practice · 2025Article
- Increase in Occurrence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Differs by Age Group and Gender-Finnish Nationwide Register Study.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Effect of pharmacological treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on later psychiatric comorbidity: a population-based prospective long-term study.BMJ mental health · 2024Article
- Effect of ADHD medication on risk of injuries: a preference-based instrumental variable analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Clinical Profile of Adults with ADHD Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital for Five Years.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Variation in attitudes toward diagnosis and medication of ADHD: a survey among clinicians in the Norwegian child and adolescent mental health services.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Article
- Differences between centers in functional outcome of patients with ADHD after 1 year from the time of diagnosis.Scientific reports · 2023Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Rates of ADHD diagnosis vary across regions in many countries. However, no prior study has investigated how much within-country geographic variation in ADHD diagnoses is explained by variation in ADHD symptom levels. We examine whether ADHD symptom levels explain variation in ADHD diagnoses among children and adolescents using nationwide survey and register data in Norway. Geographical variation in incidence of ADHD diagnosis was measured using Norwegian registry data from the child and adolescent mental health services for 2011-2016. Geographical variation in ADHD symptom levels in clinics' catchment areas was measured using data from the Norwegian mother, father and child cohort study for 2011-2016 (n = 39,850). Cross-sectional associations between ADHD symptom levels and the incidence of ADHD diagnoses were assessed with fractional response models. Geographical variation in ADHD diagnosis rates is much larger than what can be explained by geographical variation in ADHD symptoms levels. Treatment in the Norwegian child and adolescent mental health services is free, universally available upon referral, and practically without competition from the private sector. Factors beyond health care access and unequal symptom levels seem responsible for the geographical variation in ADHD diagnosis.
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