The treatment for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder differs on their place of stay in the United States, reveal findings of a new research.
According to the study by RAND Corporation, less than one in four commercially insured children treated with ADHD medication receive psychotherapy along with conventional treatment and the percentage is significantly lower in most parts of the country.
Around 11 percent of children aged between 4 and 17 were diagnosed with ADHD in 2011. The average age of ADHD diagnosis was 7 and the prevalence of the diagnosis of the condition differed significantly by state, from a low of 5.6 percent in Nevada to a high of 18.7% in Kentucky.
The current study is the first to demonstrate the striking variation in the use of talk therapy among children treated with ADHD medication in the United States. The findings stand important as past researches showed that combination of ADHD medication with behavioral therapy is more efficient in treating the attention disorder in many children.
"Treatment of ADHD in children generates lots of controversy, primarily because of potential for overuse and abuse of stimulant medications," lead researcher Dr. Walid F. Gellad, an adjunct scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization said in a press release. "We wanted to find out among those who receive ADHD medications, how many are also receive billed psychotherapy services? The answer is few, but it actually depends on where you live."
The findings revealed that just 13 percent of children using ADHD medications received any talk therapy and 7 percent had eight or more therapy visits.
"In areas of the country where rates of use are so low, it indicates that many kids with private insurance who could benefit from therapy are not receiving it," said Gellad, who also is affiliated with the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.
