OBJECTIVES: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder of neurological development, mainly onset during childhood and characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Few epidemiological information on ADHD is published in Spain. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the epidemiology of ADHD in Spain.

METHODS: The analysis was performed in the Real-World Database of clinical practice IQVIA-RWD based on electronical medical records to identify prevalence and other epidemiological data in ADHD. IQVIA-RWD contains longitudinal information of both, primary and specialized care. IQVIA-RWD covers an estimated population of 1,000,000 patients in Spain. This analysis is focused on patients with ADHD, classified by ICD-9 codes 314.0 to 314.9. Prevalence was estimated based on the total number of patients diagnosed with ADHD in the database. Data from 2013 to 2018 has been considered.

RESULTS: Prevalence has been estimated at 4% in children/young adults and at 0,1% in adults. More than 50% of the patients are being diagnosed between 7-12 years of age. Almost 80% of the patients are diagnosed by a psychiatrist or a pediatrician. 74% of overall patients with ADHD are male. With increasing age, the distribution between male and female patients becomes more balanced. In the age group of patients >30 years 58% are male and 42% female.

ADHD is associated with various neurological comorbidities, being anxiety (11.1%), behavior disorders (7.3%) and substance abuse (4.2%) the most frequent ones. Most comorbidities are suffered by male patients.

CONCLUSIONS: This analysis offers detailed information about general prevalence, distribution of prevalence in different age groups, comorbidities, among other information. This confirms that Real-World Data is able to provide detailed insights into the epidemiology of pathologies, covering information gaps especially in pathologies with scarce availability of published information and facilitating a better understanding of diseases.