ADHD diagnoses continue to rise among young people

ADHD diagnoses among children and teenagers continue to increase, according to a new report from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, SVT reports. Child and adolescent psychiatry warns that the focus on ADHD could lead to other, more serious conditions being overlooked.

The report estimates that more than 116,000 children aged 10 to 17 had an ADHD diagnosis in 2025. That represents about 14 percent of boys and just over 9 percent of girls in the age group. The agency says diagnoses may now be made for milder symptoms than they were a few years ago.

Pär Höglund, a senior physician in child and adolescent psychiatry in Stockholm, says symptoms such as difficulties with concentration and sleep can overlap across conditions. “You can move too quickly down the ADHD path when it could be depression,” he said.

The report also found that new diagnoses of depression and anxiety among 10- to 17-year-olds have fallen since 2021. One possible explanation is that young people seeking care for these conditions are often treated in primary care, where diagnoses are not yet recorded in the national patient register.

Höglund said he was not convinced that young people’s mental health had necessarily improved. Lars Almroth, the agency’s director of health and medical care, said the figures needed to be examined to understand whether they reflected a change in young people’s mental health.