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Cited by 123Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentDevelopmental and Educational Neuropsychology

Epidemiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Ayano, Getinet, Yohannes, Kalkidan, Abraha, Mebratu·2020·Annals of General Psychiatry
DOI 10.1186/s12991-020-00271-wPMC PMC7071561
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Abstract

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence, affecting 2.2 to 17.8% of all school-aged children and adolescents. ADHD in children has been associated with a wide range of developmental deficits including limitations of learning or control of executive functions as well as global impairments of social skills. However, no review has been conducted to report the consolidated magnitude of ADHD in children and adolescents in Africa. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of ADHD in Africa. Methods: Following the PRISMA guideline, we systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed studies that investigated the prevalence of ADHD in Africa from three electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Scopus). We also looked at the reference lists of included studies to include other relevant studies. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis was carried out based on the study setting, tools used to measure ADHD, sex of participants, and the subtype of ADHD. Heterogeneity across the studies was evaluated using Cochran's Q- and the I2-test. We assessed potential publication bias using Egger's test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots. Results: In the present meta-analysis, 7452 articles were initially identified and evaluated. Of these, 12 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. The pooled prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents in Africa was 7.47% (95% CI 60–9.26). The prevalence of ADHD was apparently greater in boys (10.60%) than in girls (5.28%) with a male:female ratio of 2.01:1. In our subgroup analysis, the predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I) was found to be the most common subtype of ADHD, followed by hyperactive–impulsive type (ADHD-HI) and the combined type (ADHD-C) with the prevalence of 2.95%, 2.77%, and 2.44% respectively. The predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I) was the most common type of ADHD in both boys (4.05%) and girls (2.21%). The funnel plot and Egger's regression tests provided no evidence of substantial publication bias in the prevalence of ADHD. Conclusion: Our systematic review suggested a higher prevalence of ADHD (7.47%) in children and adolescents in Africa, indicating that ADHD is a serious public health problem in children and adolescents in Africa. The prevalence of ADHD was considerably greater in males than in females. The predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-I) was the most common type of ADHD in both males and females. Greater attention needs to be paid to the prevention and treatment of ADHD.

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  • 7.47% of children and adolescents in Africa had ADHD in a 2020 study.

    “Another study, which looked at the incidence of ADHD in African children and adolescents in 2020, discovered that 7.47% of children and adolescents in Africa had the disorder.”

    From The global prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [77]

    The Results section (“The prevalence of ADHD in children”) reports a pooled ADHD prevalence of 7.47% among children and adolescents in Africa. The citing sentence incorrectly calls this incidence; the paper estimates prevalence from studies conducted between 2005 and 2017, rather than new cases in 2020. (LLM, conf=0.91)

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  • The prevalence of ADHD is higher in boys than in girls, according to [77].

    “The prevalence of ADHD is higher in boys than in girls, according to this study [77].”

    From The global prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [77]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ayano, G., Yohannes, K., & Abraha, M.
Affiliations
  • Curtin University (AU)
  • Dilla University (ET)
  • St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (ET)
Corresponding author
Ayano, Getinet
ORCID
Venue
Annals of General Psychiatry
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-03-13
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
21-21
ISSN
1744-859X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12991-020-00271-w
PMC
PMC7071561
OpenAlex
W3012634873
Cited by
123
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 6
FWCI
2.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Annals of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
Keywords
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD prevalence, children, adolescents, Africa, sex differences, ADHD subtypes, predominantly inattentive type, hyperactive-impulsive type, combined type, neurodevelopmental disorders, public health burden

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