The research was carried out by as part of his PhD at Nottingham in collaboration with Professor Denise Kendrick in the University's Division of Primary Care and was supported by the . Collaborators also included Dr Joe West from the Division of Public Health and Epidemiology and Professor Kapil Sayal from the .
Dr Prasad, who is now NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Practice at , also works as a GP in Nottingham.
He said: "It may come as no surprise that children and young people with ADHD, who are more impulsive and less attentive than children without the disorder, are at an increased risk of injuries. However, these are the most detailed estimates to date for the risk of fractures, burns and poisonings, which are common types of injury.”
"The results are significant because injuries are a leading cause of ill-health and deaths in children. So educating parents and carers of children with ADHD about the risks and what they can do to prevent injury could prevent a major cause of illness or even deaths."
Common injuries
The study looked at medical records of children and young people aged between three and 17 years old from the , a primary care database containing the records of around 12 million people from 625 GP practices and representing around eight per cent of the population of the UK. The findings were based on around half of the patients from England who also had linked hospital medical records.
The research focused on the three common forms of injury in children – fractures, burns and poisonings – after diagnosis of ADHD and results showed a significant increase in the risk of injury.
Children and young people with ADHD were four times more likely to be accidentally poisoned, twice as likely to sustain a burn and had a 25 per cent increased risk of breaking a bone.
Children and young people with ADHD regularly see paediatricians, GPs and pharmacists but guidance from organisations such as the and the does not currently recommend counselling parents and carers on the risk of injury.
The researchers say this study shows that more should be done at diagnosis, medication reviews and follow-up visits to educate families on age-appropriate injury prevention.
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