Utilization and Costs of Medical Care for Children and Adolescents With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Tuesday, January 02, 2001

For Immediate Release

A Mayo Clinic study that compared persons with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) to those without AD/HD showed that those with AD/HD exhibited marked increases in medical care use in multiple care-delivery settings. The nine-year median costs for persons with AD/HD compared to those without AD/HD were more than double ($4,306 vs. $1,944), even for the subset with no hospital or ER admissions (e.g. median 1987 costs = $128 vs. $65). The study is in this week's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The findings suggest that the burden of AD/HD extends beyond the recognized social, behavioral and academic outcomes to include markedly increased use of medical care. Dramatic differences in cost were observed for both sexes and at every age; the differences were not attributable to a few high-cost individuals but were broadly based.

For more information: 507-538-1385 (days) 507-284-2511 (evenings) e-mail: newsbureau@mayo.edu

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.