Uptake in ADHD diagnosis is "catch up" says Lincolnshire coach
There's been a 18% increase in people taking ADHD medication since the pandemic.
An uptake in ADHD diagnoses is "catch up" by the medical industry say's a Lincolnshire ADHD coach.
Rosie Elvin runs ADHD focus which aims to help people thrive through their ADHD.
There's been an 18% rise in people taking ADHD medication since the pandemic, with a new study suggesting social media awareness has been a driving factor in the uptake.
"I see it as decades of under diagnosis, we're catching up," said Rosie Elvin.
"Those people being diagnosed have probably been (falsely) diagnosed with something else along the way - anxiety, depression, eating disorders, bipolar. Due to lack of awareness in the medical field about how ADHD can present."
Misinformation on these platforms may lead to misconceptions about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
Rosie Elvin often works with adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD later in life.
She was supported by the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme to grow her business in Lincolnshire and beyond.
Experts at Aston University and the University of Huddersfield said increasing awareness of ADHD, including via social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, is likely to have encouraged more people to seek diagnosis and treatment for the condition.
However, they warned that "misinformation on these platforms may lead to misconceptions about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment".
Another reason behind the rise could be the "strong association between the impact of the (Covid) pandemic and the worsening of ADHD symptoms", they said.
The new study, from experts at Aston University and the University of Huddersfield, calculated that ADHD prescriptions in England "increased significantly" from 25.17 items per 1,000 population in 2019/20 (before Covid) to 41.55 items in 2023/24, with an average annual increase of 18% nationally.
"It's very easy to jump on, because the symptoms of ADHD tend to be things people relate to," said Rosie Elvin.
"But, with ADHD, it's those symptoms having a huge impact on your life."
"I think on social media there's so many platforms where they say 'this will change your life if you've got ADHD, (but) it really it needs a holistic approach, there's no one app that's going to make everything more manageable."
"(I would advise) definitely to be wary, but also it has raised awareness so people aren't going through their lives wondering what on Earth is wrong with them."