Sex Differences in the Age at First Health Service Use for ADHD Among Australian Children
Melissa Mei Yin Cheung, Tasmia Hai, Oliver J. Watkeys, Kristin R. Laurens, Vaughan J. Carr, Melissa J. GreenObjective:
There is evidence to suggest that girls with ADHD are less likely to be diagnosed with and receive treatment for ADHD in childhood compared to boys. However, it is unclear whether there are sex differences in first use health services for ADHD. This study compared the age at which girls and boys first accessed health services for ADHD.
Methods:
Participants were 89,587 children followed from birth to age ~18 years with linked administrative health records within a longitudinal population cohort study in New South Wales, Australia. The age at the first use of health services for ADHD was identified from records of subsidised medication prescriptions, ambulatory mental health service use, emergency department presentations and hospital admissions, and examined in relation to the child’s sex assigned at birth.
Results:
In this population cohort, 7,402 (8.3%) children accessed health services for ADHD before their 18th birthday. The percentage of girls with a record of using health services for ADHD (5.5%) was approximately half that for boys (10.9%). Girls were older at their first use of health services for ADHD (median age 13.6 years, modal age 17 years) than boys (median age 9.4 years, modal age 7 years).
Conclusion:
Our findings emphasise the need to improve timely recognition and treatment of ADHD among girls.