Prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Comorbid Disruptive Behavior Disorders Among School Age Children in Trabzon

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and co-morbid Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) in a sample of primary school children in Trabzon, Turkey.Method: Primary school children aged 6–12 years (n=1126) were assessed for the DSM-IV criteria of ADHD and co-morbid DBDs using Turgay's DSM-IV based ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders screening scale.Results: The prevalence of ADHD was 8.6% (n=97) and the subtypes were predominantly inattentive 1.6% (n=18), predominantly hyperactive/impulsive 6.1% (n=69) and combined 0.9% (n=10) respectively. The male to female ratio was 3.5/1 for ADHD (all subtypes). The prevalence of other DBDs in the study sample was 18.6% (n=209). The cases were distributed as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) 14.1% (n=159) and Conduct Disorder (CD) 4.4% (n=50) respectively. The frequency of ODD among ADHD cases was 57.5% (n=56) and that of CD was 20.6% (n=20).Conclusions: It was supported that ADHD did not show significant differences among cultures regarding its prevalence, male predominance and high DBD co-morbidity. On the other hand, the ADHD subtype distribution differed from the literature in favor of the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype. This may be related to cultural differences in attitudes toward child and expectations and patterns related to age and situation appropriate behaviors and should be further investigated in Turkey.