system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why is ADD and ADHD so common now?

I have read it affects somewhere from 5-9% of the population. I myself have ADHD, and have been prescribed Ritalin. However, my diagnosis wasn't based on cognitive ability/other factors, but rather on questions such as "Do you feel so and so when you do so and so?". Is it just overdiagnosed, it is because of television and the internet, or what?

Also, is there any way to cure AD(H)D?

Edit: Wow, this question got more attention than I thought it would O__O. Don't bother answering the second question if you're going to contribute. Also, could anyone explain the causes behind ADD/ADHD?
gpt
[Master's in Clinical Psychology, working towards Doctorate]

Go, go, EBSCOHost!

QUESTION 1

*"Based on the review of prevalence studies and research on the diagnostic process, there does not appear to be sufficient justification for the conclusion that ADHD is systematically overdiagnosed. Yet, this conclusion is generally not reflected in public perceptions or media coverage of ADHD."*

Sciutto, M. J., & Eisenberg, M. (2007). Evaluating the evidence for and against the overdiagnosis of ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 11(2), 106-113. doi:10.1177/1087054707300094

*"A critical review of epidemiologic research suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not universally overdiagnosed; however, for some U.S. communities there is evidence of substantial ADHD overdiagnosis, adverse educational outcomes among children treated for the disorder, and suboptimal management of childhood behavior problems. Evidence of ADHD overdiagnosis is obscured when findings are reported without respect to geographic location, race, gender, and age. More sophisticated epidemiologic tracking of ADHD treatment trends and examination of associated outcomes is needed to appreciate the scope of the problem on a national level."*

LeFever, G. B., Arcona, A. P., & Antonuccio, D. O. (2003). ADHD among American Schoolchildren: Evidence of Overdiagnosis and Overuse of Medication. The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice: Objective Investigations of Controversial and Unorthodox Claims in Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry, and Social Work, 2(1), 49-60. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

*"ADHD was overdiagnosed (all patients with ADHD had received the diagnosis, as did 38% of patients with MDD and 29% of patients with BD, respectively), while MDD was partially underdiagnosed and partially overdiagnosed (57% of MDD patients received the diagnosis, 43% did not; 33% of patients with BD were incorrectly diagnosed with MDD). BD was underdiagnosed, not overdiagnosed (38% received the diagnosis, 62% did not; BD was not diagnosed in the ADHD sample, and in only 5% of the patients with MDD)."*

Chilakamarri, J. K., Filkowski, M. M., & Ghaemi, S. (2011). Misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents: A comparison with ADHD and major depressive disorder. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 23(1), 25-29. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

**TLDR: ADHD is not universally overdiagnosed, but: (a) some practitioners are sloppy in differentiating it from depression, which looks similar to attention-deficit and/or hyperactivity in children (family physicians); (b) some practitioners see patients for all of 15-30 minutes before giving a patient a diagnosis (psychiatrists); and (c) parents and educators push for medication, since in many instances this is much more convenient than behavior modification or discipline.**

QUESTION 2

No, there is no cure. Symptoms can be most effectively managed with a combination of psychotherapy and psychiatric medication.