Epidemiologic and Clinical Qualities of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Primary School Students in Sarpol-e Zahab town, Western Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the most common psychiatric disorder among the school age children, leaving a negative impact on the individuals general functions. The purpose of our present study was to investigate the epidemiologic and clinical qualities of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) amng the primary school students in Sarpol-e Zahab town, western Iran. Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The statistical population covered all the primary school students of 7-12 years old in Sarpol-e Zahab town. Based on Krejcie and Morgan table and multi-stage cluster sampling, 740 people were selected; accordingly, demographic variables, Child Symptom Inventories-4 (CSI-4) were completed. The data was Analyzed using Descriptive Statistics, Cho-Square Test, Logistic Regression analysis by SPSS-21 software. The level of significance was considered (P≤0.05). Findings: The results showed that prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was 11/22% generally. Such a prevalence was higher in boys than that of the female students. The highest prevalence of ADHD included ADHA-Combined, ADHD-Hyperactivity and ADHD-Inattention, respectively. All the demographic factors, except for the parents jobs demonsterated a significant relationship with the prevalence of ADHD, (P≤0.05). Discussion & Conclusion: Our results indicated that Prevalence of ADHD among the students of Sarpol-e Zahab was of a significant difference compared to other researches conducted inside and outside Iran (11/22%). However, more attention should be paid to mental health policy-making in students to decrease the present behavioral problems and those of future.