Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated learning difficulties among primary school children in district Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Gurpreet Kaur Chawla
. Ruchi Juyal 1
. Deep Shikha 1
. Jayanti Semwal 1
. Shailesh Tripathi 2
. Sudip Bhattacharya 1

1 Department of Community Medicine, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

2 Department of Health, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a considerably common 
childhood‑onset neurodevelopmental disorder, often associated with socio‑behavioral and academic 
difficulties. There is an increased risk for development of a range of future problems such as 
psychiatric disorders, difficulties in employment, and relationships. The aim of this study was to know 
the prevalence and determinants of ADHD among primary school children in district Dehradun and 
to assess the learning difficulties and classroom behavior in these students.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross‑sectional study, overall, 228 students (aged 6–12 years) 
studying in a primary school were assessed for ADHD after seeking the written informed consent from 
their parents. The data were analyzed using Excel sheet and SPSS software (22.0 version). For all 
qualitative measures, frequency and percentages were calculated, and for quantitative measures, 
mean and standard deviation were calculated. For analysis of categorical values, Chi‑square test 
was used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: The prevalence of ADHD was found to be 11.8% based on the teacher tool only and 
1.75% based on the parent and teacher tools combined. ADHD was found to be significantly more 
in males. Inattention was the most prevalent subtype of ADHD, and children screened positive for 
ADHD had significant learning difficulties at various levels.
CONCLUSION: The possibility of ADHD in students with academic difficulties should not be ignored 
as children with ADHD usually face significant problems at school such as learning difficulties and 
have been shown to be at increased risk for a broad range of negative outcomes. Early identification 
and treatment of ADHD can significantly reduce the rates of some of these poor outcomes. Screening 
these children in the early years will help the parents, children, teachers, and community at large.

Keywords

Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity
disabled children
learning disabilities
mass screening
  1. Polanczyk GV, Salum GA, Sugaya LS, Caye A, Rohde LA. Annual 
    research review: A meta‑analysis of the worldwide prevalence 
    of mental disorders in children and adolescents. J Child Psychol 
    Psychiatry 2015;56:345‑65.
    2. Willcutt EG. The prevalence of DSM‑IV attention‑deficit/
    hyperactivity disorder: Ameta‑analytic review. Neurotherapeutics 
    2012;9:490‑9.
    3. Barry TD, Sturner RA, Seymour K, Howard BH, McGoron L, 
    Bergmann P, et al. School‑based screening to identify children 
    at risk for attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Barriers and 
    implications. Child Health Care 2016;45:241‑65.
    4. Epstein JN, Loren RE. Changes in the definition of ADHD 
    in DSM‑5: Subtle but important. Neuropsychiatry (London) 
    2013;3:455‑8.
    5. GizerIR, Ficks C, Waldman ID. Candidate gene studies of ADHD: 
    A meta‑analytic review. Hum Genet 2009;126:51‑90.
    6. Curatolo P, D’Agati E, Moavero R. The neurobiological basis of 
    ADHD. Ital J Pediatr 2010;36:79.
    7. Amiri S, Malek A, Sadegfard M, Abdi S. Pregnancy‑related 
    maternal risk factors of attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder: 
    A case‑control study. ISRN Pediatr 2012;2012:458064.
    8. Galéra C, Pingault JB, Michel G, Bouvard MP, Melchior M, 
    Falissard B, et al. Clinical and social factors associated 
    with attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder medication 
    use: Population‑based longitudinal study. Br J Psychiatry 
    2014;205:291‑7. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
    pubmed/25104834. [Last accessed on 2019 Oct 26].
  2. 9. Feiz P, Emamipour S. A survey on prevalence rate of 
    attention‑deficit hyperactivity disorder among elementary 
    school students (6‑7 years old) in Tehran. Procedia‑Soc Behav Sci 
    2013;84:1732‑5. [doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro. 2013.07.022].
    10. Available from: https://www.nichq.org/sites/default/files/
    resource‑file/NICHQ_Vanderbilt_Assessment_Scales.pdf. [Last 
    accessed on 2019 Oct 26].
    11. Brown RT, Freeman WS, Perrin JM, Stein MT, Amler RW, 
    Feldman HM, et al. Prevalence and assessment of attention‑deficit/
    hyperactivity disorder in primary care settings. Pediatrics 
    2001;107:E43.
    12. Venkata JA, Panicker AS. Prevalence of attention deficit 
    hyperactivity disorder in primary school children. Indian J 
    Psychiatry 2013;55:338‑42.
    13. HsR, As G, Pandit LV. Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity 
    disorder in school going children aged between 5‑12 years in 
    Bengaluru. Curr Pediatr Res 2017;21:321‑6.
    14. Mannapur R, Munirathnam G, Hyarada M, Saranappa S, 
    Bylagoudar S. Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity 
    disorder among urban school children. Int J Contemp Pediatr 
    2016;3:240‑2.
    15. Yewatkar DV, Pande DP, Bangde LA, Joshi T. Prevalence of 
    attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in an urban school of a 
    developing country. Int J Res Med Sci 2015;3:3759‑62.
    16. Danielson ML, Bitsko RH, Ghandour RM, Holbrook JR, 
    Kogan MD, Blumberg SJ. Prevalence of parent‑reported 
    ADHD diagnosis and associated treatment Among U.S. 
    children and adolescents, 2016. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 
    2018;47:199‑212.
    17. Hebrani P, Abdolahian E, Behdani F, Vosoogh I, Javanbakht A. 
    The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in 
    preschool‑age children in Mashhad, north‑East of Iran. Arch Iran 
    Med 2007;10:147‑51. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
    gov/pubmed/17367214. [Last accessed on 2019 Oct 26].
    18. Hamidzadeh A, Kharatha M, Bazghaleh M, Basirinejad H, 
    Aghdam NF, Ebrahimi H. The prevalence of attention-deficit 
    hyperactivity disorder and its related risk factors among children 
    at elementary school in Shahroud. J Educ Health Promot. 
    2021;10:341. 
    19. Polanczyk G, de Lima MS, Horta BL, Biederman J, Rohde LA. 
    The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: A systematic review and 
    metaregression analysis. Am J Psychiatry 2007;164:942‑8.
    20. Ramtekkar UP, Reiersen AM, Todorov AA, Todd RD. Sex and age 
    differences in attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms 
    and diagnoses: Implications for DSM‑V and ICD‑11. J Am Acad 
    Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2010;49:217‑28.e1.
    21. Vadsaria K, Jabbar A, Azam I, Rizvi S, Haider G, Naqvi, H. 
    Coping Styles and Depression among Patients with Solid Organ 
    Cancers Attending Two Tertiary Care Hospitals of Karachi: A 
    Cross Sectional Study. Open Journal of Epidemiology, 2017;7: 
    69-83.
    22. Willcutt EG. The prevalence of DSM‑IV ADHD: A meta‑analytic 
    review. Neurotherapeutics 2012;9:490‑9. Available from: http://
    link.springer.com/article/100.1007/s13311‑012‑0135‑8/fulltext.
    html. [Last accessed on 2019 Oct 26].
    23. Biederman J, Mick E, Faraone SV, Braaten E, Doyle A, Spencer T,
    et al. Influence of gender on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 
    in. Am J Psychiatry 2002;159:36‑42.
    24. Loe IM, Feldman HM. Academic and educational outcomes of 
    children with ADHD. J Pediatric Psychol 2007;32:643‑54.
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 12, Issue 3
March 2022
Pages 1-6

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us