Lately I've heard frequently that the increase in cases of hyperactive children is not real. Which has led me to reflect on it several times. What cannot be denied is that there are more and more diagnoses of this type, which does not mean that they are correct.
It is very likely that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is overdiagnosed, which means that many children who are not are labeled and "sick". If the diagnosis is accompanied by medication, it would not only be unnecessary but could pose a risk to the child's health.
The growing dimension of the problem is such that the United Nations Organization (UN), through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have drawn attention to the detection of an increase, barely justified by clinical criteria, in the diagnosis of ADHD and associated pharmacological treatments.
Therefore, they recommend a greater interest in making a correct and strict diagnosis of ADHD in children and that a pharmacological treatment is established only after the attempt of another type of psychopedagogical and / or behavioral treatments.
A work published in "Evidence in Pediatrics" aims to analyze the possible causes of a current overdiagnosis of ADHD in our environment and know how it can be avoided. Several Clinical Guidelines propose that it is only specialists (paidopsychiatrists, neuropediatricians, or pediatricians who are experts in this pathology) who make such a diagnosis.
The article, entitled "Is there an overdiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?", Concludes the importance of knowing that in Spain, as in the United States or Canada, we are immersed in a dynamic of overdiagnosis of ADHD, and that there is a scientific and ethical need to avoid that overdiagnosis.
They propose to know better the diagnostic instruments and emphasize that the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and the scales of assessment of ADHD (Conners and ADHD) are based only on pre-established categorical criteria, which are complementary tests but They are not directly diagnostic and therefore should not replace clinical observation.
They should also be known along with the inclusion criteria, those of exclusion, since the differential diagnosis of a possible ADHD is broad and heterogeneous, with multiple neurological, pediatric and psychosocial causes, and must always be carried out rigorously by a multidisciplinary team.
In addition, the clinical and contextual data of the patient should always be integrated in the assessment of the patient (also those associated with the characteristics of their age; this is clearly seen when we face the possible cases of a child, a teenager or an adult).
In short, being more aware of the risk of overdiagnosis of ADHD for the child's health and following these recommendations by the professionals involved, many unjustified labels and especially many problems associated with unnecessary medication would be avoided.
