ADHD and autism diagnoses have surged. A massive study may help explain why

New research suggests that the characteristics of children and teenagers receiving attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses have shifted over the past decade.

The study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, and Aarhus University, found that young people diagnosed with ADHD or ASD in Denmark now more closely resemble the broader population than those who received the same diagnoses 10 years earlier.

The findings suggest that the increase in ADHD and ASD diagnoses may partly reflect changes in who is being identified and diagnosed, alongside any possible changes in the underlying likelihood of developing these conditions. The research was published in JAMA Psychiatry .

Tracking changes in ADHD and autism diagnoses