What’s really behind the gigantic jump in cases of ADHD over the past decade?

Here’s one for the “Glaringly Obvious” file.

According to a new study from Northwestern University, the number of ADHD cases dramatically increased between 2000 and 2010.

Shocking? Not at all. You can file that one right beside the report that moon rocks can be found on the moon.

Specifically, about 10 million children were diagnosed with ADHD between 2000 and 2010 — a 66 percent increase over the decade. That’s enormous, but not surprising.

In a Northwestern Newscenter report, one of the study authors offered this analysis: “The magnitude and speed of this shift in one decade is likely due to an increased awareness of ADHD, which may have caused more physicians to recognize symptoms and diagnose the disorder.”

Increased awareness? That’s one way to put it.

Or you could put it like this: The magnitude and speed of this shift in one decade is likely due to a Big Pharma marketing blitz that included increased school district federal funding for each child diagnosed and treated for ADHD.

That “awareness” didn’t just happen. It was signed, sealed, SOLD, and delivered.

Sources:

“Diagnosis of ADHD on the Rise” Erin White, Northwestern Newscenter, 3/19/12, northwestern.edu