The prevalence and factors affecting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among school children in Khartoum State.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children, characterized by age-inappropriate features of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity or both. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and socio demographic correlates of ADHD symptoms in general basic schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study conducted in Khartoum North. A random sample of 190 general basic schools was chosen, from which sample of 1000 students from both boys and girls were selected by systematic random sampling, their age ranges between 7 and 14 years. They were screened for different subtypes of ADHD symptoms using the SNAP-IV-C teacher and parent rating scale, which is a revision of the Swanson Nalon and Pelham (SNAP) questionnaire. The overall prevalence of ADHD was 9.4%. The prevalence of children with ADHD/inattentive sub type, ADHD/ hyperactive-impulsive sub type, ADHD/ combined subtype were 3.5%, 6.9 % and 1.0 %, respectively. The prevalence rate increased significantly with the increase in age. The study showed that the prevalence of ADHD symptoms among school children in Sudan was high as rated by both teacher and parents rather than what has been reported in other studies. ADHD symptoms are more common among boys than girls and more prevalent in late childhood and in those who lived in rural area.