Cross sectional review of children with ADHD presenting to an outpatient psychiatric institute in Pakistan

Objective: To establish baseline demographic information for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the children of Pakistan and to compare the results with similar studies elsewhere.MATERIALS AND Methods: This study was a cross sectional review. We reviewed medical records of all children less than 14 years of age, presenting to The Institute of Behavioural Sciences (IBS), Karachi during a two year period. Twenty-six children diagnosed with ADHD were included in the study. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS.Results: Among the twenty-six children, there were 20 boys and 6 girls (male to female ratio 3:1). Mean age at onset of symptoms was 4.48 years. Fifteen children were diagnosed with the combined subtype, seven with the hyperactive subtype and four with the inattentive subtype. The most significant comorbids included mental retardation (MR) (53.8%) and epilepsy (23.1%). The combined subtype was found to be significantly associated with MR. Risk factors for brain damage, and hence ADHD, found in the history included maternal problems like eclampsia and prolonged labor, and perinatal problems like sepsis and low birth weight. Delayed milestones were present in 61.5% of children.CONCLUSION: Our study provides a broad view of ADHD in Pakistani children. This study can provide a platform for future analytical studies about this challenging research issue