World-wide sales of ADHD medication are likely to hit $14 billion in two years.
By Stephen Hinshaw and Richard M. Scheffler
In March 2013 the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that 11% of school-age children in the U.S.—an astonishing 6.4 million kids—had received a medical diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a 41% increase in the past decade. Over two-thirds of kids with an ADHD diagnosis receive prescriptions for stimulants like Adderall or Ritalin. The data sparked a much-needed debate about whether American children were being overdiagnosed and overmedicated for ADHD.
Read more: How Attention-Deficit Disorder Went Global