5/4/98
Contact:
Marsha Rappley, Pediatrics & Human Development
(517) 355-4715
or
Tom Oswald, Media Communications
(517) 355-2281
(EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE MAY 4, 1998)
STUDY FINDS CHILDREN ONE TO THREE YEARS OF AGE DIAGNOSED AND TREATED FOR ADHD
NEW ORLEANS -- Children as young as one year of age are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a Michigan State University pediatrician has found.
In addition, children as young as two years of are being treated for the disorder with psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin, Prozac and Zoloft.
The research of Marsha Rappley, an associate professor in MSU's Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in New Orleans.
"To find children that are identified and labeled with ADHD at this age is surprising," Rappley said. "We have little information about what the disorder is like in very young children."
By reviewing medical billing claims, Rappley and colleagues found that over a 15-month period, 223 Michigan children between the ages of one to three were diagnosed with ADHD. Of those children, 127 were treated with psychotropic medications, including several who received one or more drugs.
Normally, children this young are not diagnosed with ADHD, a malady that affects anywhere from three to five percent of the population. So how does this happen?
"I don't think you can give a simple diagnosis of ADHD in a child of this age," Rappley said. "The children we describe have other serious problems as well, including a high number of injuries and language disorders."
Some of the symptoms these children might exhibit include highly aggressive behavior, engaging in physically dangerous activities, and getting by on very few hours of sleep. All of these symptoms will eventually take their toll on parents and other caregivers.
"My hypothesis about this," Rappley said, "is that the problems of these children are so severe that the physician and parents feel compelled to do something."
How widespread is this practice? Rappley said this research cannot be extrapolated or generalized to indicate what is happening outside of this group of children.
"It's important to remember that by examining claims information, we can learn what services were given to these children," Rappley said, "but we did not look at detailed medical records."
Another surprising aspect of these findings is the variety of medications with which they're being treated. Rappley said that as many as 22 different medications are being used in a large number of combinations.
"This indicates that we don't have much information to guide us in the use of these kinds of medications for young children," she said.
Rappley said counseling -- another important part of treatment - was used by 58 of the children in her study.
"These children and their families deserve a great deal of support and help to manage the serious problems they deal with on a daily basis," she said.
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