Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Age, Academic Performance, and Stimulant Prescribing for ADHD: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Helga Zoëga, Unnur A. Valdimarsdóttir and Sonia Hernández-Díaz
Pediatrics December 2012, 130 (6) 1012-1018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-0689
Helga Zoëga
aInstitute for Translational Epidemiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York;
bCenter of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Unnur A. Valdimarsdóttir
bCenter of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sonia Hernández-Díaz
cDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We evaluated whether younger age in class is associated with poorer academic performance and an increased risk of being prescribed stimulants for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS: This was a nationwide population-based cohort study, linking data from national registries of prescribed drugs and standardized scholastic examinations. The study population comprised all children born in 1994–1996 who took standardized tests in Iceland at ages 9 and 12 (n = 11 785). We estimated risks of receiving low test scores (0–10th percentile) and being prescribed stimulants for ADHD. Comparisons were made according to children’s relative age in class.

RESULTS: Mean test scores in mathematics and language arts were lowest among the youngest children in the fourth grade, although the gap attenuated in the seventh grade. Compared with the oldest third, those in the youngest third of class had an increased relative risk of receiving a low test score at age 9 for mathematics (1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–2.2) and language arts (1.8; 95% CI 1.6–2.1), whereas at age 12, the relative risk was 1.6 in both subjects. Children in the youngest third of class were 50% more likely (1.5; 95% CI 1.3–1.8) than those in the oldest third to be prescribed stimulants between ages 7 and 14.

CONCLUSIONS: Relative age among classmates affects children’s academic performance into puberty, as well as their risk of being prescribed stimulants for ADHD. This should be taken into account when evaluating children’s performance and behavior in school to prevent unnecessary stimulant treatment.

KEY WORDS
  • relative age
  • academic performance
  • stimulant prescribing
  • ADHD
  • children
  • Abbreviations:
    ADHD —
    attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
    CI —
    confidence interval
    • Accepted July 11, 2012.
    • Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

    Individual Login

    Log in
    You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

    Institutional Login

    via Institution

    You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

    Log in through your institution

    If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

    Purchase access

    You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.

    Offer Reprints

    PreviousNext
    Back to top

    Advertising Disclaimer »

    In this issue

    Pediatrics
    Vol. 130, Issue 6
    1 Dec 2012
    • Table of Contents
    • Index by author
    View this article with LENS
    PreviousNext
    Email Article

    Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

    NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

    Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
    Age, Academic Performance, and Stimulant Prescribing for ADHD: A Nationwide Cohort Study
    (Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
    (Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
    CAPTCHA
    This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
    Request Permissions
    Article Alerts
    Log in
    You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
    Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
    Citation Tools
    Age, Academic Performance, and Stimulant Prescribing for ADHD: A Nationwide Cohort Study
    Helga Zoëga, Unnur A. Valdimarsdóttir, Sonia Hernández-Díaz
    Pediatrics Dec 2012, 130 (6) 1012-1018; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0689

    Citation Manager Formats

    • BibTeX
    • Bookends
    • EasyBib
    • EndNote (tagged)
    • EndNote 8 (xml)
    • Medlars
    • Mendeley
    • Papers
    • RefWorks Tagged
    • Ref Manager
    • RIS
    • Zotero
    Share
    Age, Academic Performance, and Stimulant Prescribing for ADHD: A Nationwide Cohort Study
    Helga Zoëga, Unnur A. Valdimarsdóttir, Sonia Hernández-Díaz
    Pediatrics Dec 2012, 130 (6) 1012-1018; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0689
    del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
    Print
    Download PDF
    Insight Alerts
    • Table of Contents

    Jump to section

    • Article
      • Abstract
      • Methods
      • Results
      • Discussion
      • Conclusions
      • Footnotes
      • References
    • Figures & Data
    • Supplemental
    • Info & Metrics
    • Comments

    Related Articles

    • PubMed
    • Google Scholar

    Cited By...

    • Childrens Relative Age and ADHD Medication Use: A Finnish Population-Based Study
    • Young age at school entry and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder-related symptoms during primary school: results of a prospective cohort study conducted at German Rudolf Steiner Schools
    • Google Scholar

    More in this TOC Section

    • Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening
    • Phenobarbital and Clonidine as Secondary Medications for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
    • Severe Acute Neurologic Involvement in Children With Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome
    Show more Article

    Similar Articles

    Subjects

    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
      • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
      • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    Keywords

    • relative age
    • academic performance
    • stimulant prescribing
    • ADHD
    • children
    • Journal Info
    • Editorial Board
    • Editorial Policies
    • Overview
    • Licensing Information
    • Authors/Reviewers
    • Author Guidelines
    • Submit My Manuscript
    • Open Access
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Librarians
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Usage Stats
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • Subscribe
    • Resources
    • Media Kit
    • About
    • International Access
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Statement
    • FAQ
    • AAP.org
    • shopAAP
    • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
    • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
    • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
    • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
    • RSS
    American Academy of Pediatrics

    © 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics