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ADHD in Arab countries – vitamin D is the only changeable risk factor – review April 2015

Systematic review of the epidemiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Arab countries.

Neurosciences (Riyadh). 2015 Apr;20(2):137-144. doi: 10.17712/nsj.2015.2.20140678.
Alhraiwil NJ1, Ali A, Househ MS, Al-Shehri AM, El-Metwally AA.
1College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE:
To assess the epidemiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Arab countries, and identify gaps for future research.

METHODS:
We searched PubMed from July 1978 to July 2014 and reviewed local journals with cross-referencing. The keywords we used were ADHD, diagnosis, prevalence, incidence, factor, diagnosis, rate, risk, and each of the names of the 22 Arab countries (Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and so on). Studies were eligible for inclusion if they investigated the epidemiology of ADHD in any Arab country, and were published in English. The search was conducted from 2nd to 5th August 2014 in King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

RESULTS:
A total of 22 articles were included in the review. Twenty studies were cross-sectional and found the

  • prevalence of ADHD ranged between 1.3-16%,
  • prevalence of hyperactive type ADHD between 1.4-7.8%, and the
  • prevalence of inattention type between 2.1-2.7%.

Only 2 case-control studies investigated potential risk factors.
Evidence extracted from these studies shows a significant association between ADHD and

  • male gender,
  • previous psychiatric illness in the family,
  • vitamin D deficiency,
  • poor school performance,
  • sleep problems, and
  • nocturnal enuresis.


CONCLUSION:
The prevalence of ADHD in Arab countries is comparable to reports in North America, Africa, and other countries of the Middle East. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the prognosis and determinants of this condition in the Arab world.

PMID: 25864066


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 Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life

Vitamin D levels in the study

ADHD children 17 ng,
non ADHD children 24 ng


See also Vitamin D Life

Attached files

ID Name Comment Uploaded Size Downloads
5296 ADHD T1B.jpg admin 13 Apr, 2015 11:04 260.63 Kb 1103
5295 ADHD T1A.jpg admin 13 Apr, 2015 11:04 290.84 Kb 967
5294 ADHD Arab.pdf PDF 2015 admin 13 Apr, 2015 11:03 418.66 Kb 803
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