According to a new study released last week by a Michigan State University economist, nearly 1 million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) "simply because they are the youngest, and most immature, in their kindergarten class."

According to an article about the study, "the youngest children were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and to be prescribed behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin then their older classmates." Lead researchers believe the "smoking gun" was that "diagnoses depended on the children's age relative to classmates and the teacher's perceptions of whether they had symptoms.

Furthermore, researchers believe medicating such children inappropriately is a cause for concern because of the effect of long term stimulant use on their health but also the cost of potentially unnecessary drugs on family's budgets. The study estimates that $320 to $500 million is being wasted on unnecessary medication of young children for ADHD each year.

This study, aimed to be published in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Health Economics, looks at a sample of nearly 12,000 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort, funded by the National Center for Education Statistics. Researchers analyzed the difference in ADHD diagnosis and medication rates between youngest and the oldest children in a kindergarten grade.

Source: Examiner.com "Misdiagnosis of ADHD could affect nearly 1 million children in US" 08/24/2010