20.500.12556/RUL-185144 Prevalence of pharmacologically treated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, adolescents, and adults systematic review and meta-analysis Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental paediatric disorders and persists into adulthood, although it is frequently underdiagnosed and underrecognized in adult populations. In this context, the prevalence of pharmacologically treated individuals diagnosed with ADHD represents an important quality indicator for ADHD management. Aim: To estimate the pooled prevalence of pharmacologically treated individuals with ADHD in different age groups in Europe and worldwide. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE was conducted to identify relevant articles published up to October 4, 2024. The present systematic review and meta-analysis examined ADHD prevalence using clinically confirmed diagnoses and treatment data from official records. The exclusion criteria included studies that lacked clinical confirmation of ADHD and/or relied exclusively on parental reports for diagnostic or medication information. The prevalence of pharmacologically treated individuals with ADHD was calculated as a percentage, with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A meta-analysis was performed in R using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was calculated using I$^2$. Prediction intervals were additionally computed to reflect the expected range of prevalence in future studies. Risk of bias was assessed for all included studies using a standardized, previously published methodology. The study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020200220) and adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for systematic review and meta-analysis (2020). Results: The systematic review identified 13 studies (12 studies included in the meta-analysis) with substantial variation in age-specific reporting. The pooled prevalence of pharmacologically treated ADHD was 73.4% (95% CI: 63.4–81.5), with extremely high between-study heterogeneity and wide 95% prediction interval (29.6%–94.5%), reflecting substantial variation across settings. The pooled prevalence estimate should be interpreted with caution due to substantial between-study heterogeneity and is not intended for direct clinical inference. Geographic analyses revealed no significant variation across countries. Sex-stratified analyses showed no significant difference between males and females, although point estimates were slightly higher in males. adolescents and adults attention deficit hyperactivity disorder children metaanalysis pharmacological treatment prevalence mladostniki in odrasli motnja pomanjkanja pozornosti s hiperaktivnostjo otroci metaanaliza farmakološko zdravljenje prevalenca klinična farmakologija motnje pozornosti in hiperaktivnost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-07-24 08:43:12 2026-07-24 08:43:24 2026-07-25 04:09:04 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 11 str. art. 1854611 Vol. 17 July 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 615.03:616.89-008.47 1664-0640 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1854611 285782531 fpsyt-17-1854611.pdf fpsyt-17-1854611.pdf 1 F3E543613BBE9A70128F784989EAB643 84b50ba7376c130228a86bdebfc63e72eda167f370dc2e60ae1c449e7fc6d839 5a2743a7-872b-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243359 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1854611/full 1 b96297ed-872a-11f1-9b0d-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=243358 Fakulteta za farmacijo 0 0 0