A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry indicates that the characteristics of individuals diagnosed with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have changed over the past decade. The research, by Magnus Elias Tarp et al., suggests that the recent increase in diagnoses in high-income countries like Denmark and the UK is linked to improved clinical recognition of these conditions across a broader group of children and young people.
Dr Joanna Martin, a Senior Research Fellow at Cardiff University’s School of Medicine, described the study as high quality, applying robust methods to analyse health data from a large and representative Danish population. She noted that given similarities between Denmark and the UK's national health services and diagnostic increases, the results are likely relevant to the UK.
The study suggests that children and young people without certain early life or socioeconomic risk markers, such as preterm birth or low maternal education, are more likely to receive an ADHD or ASD diagnosis in recent years. Dr Steven Kapp, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, added that as public and professional awareness grows, particularly among more educated families, more girls are being recognised, as are individuals whose challenges become more obvious during adolescence.
Professor Dame Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at UCL, commented that as diagnosis numbers have climbed, newly diagnosed individuals appear more similar to their unaffected peers and fit less well with previously established risk profiles. The authors caution that the study does not indicate a reduced functional impact for individuals with ADHD and ASD today.