A Population-Based Study on Injury Risk and Disparities Among Children With ADHD

Objective: Impaired attention and inhibitory control put children with ADHD at potentially high risk of injury-one of the leading causes of disability in the general pediatric population. Existing research has yet to examine this important health risk using nationally representative samples. This population-based study aimed to address this gap. Methods: National estimates of injury occurrences were generated from 66,236 children in the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey 2010-2019 datasets. Multiple logistic regression models further examined the impact of injury type, age, race/ethnicity, sex, parental education, income, marital and insurance status on injury prevalence. Results: Compared to children without ADHD, those with ADHD have significantly higher injury prevalence (OR = 1.20, 95% CI [1.07, 1.33]) across injury types and most sociodemographic subgroups. Conclusions: Children with ADHD are more likely to experience injury. Future research should investigate mechanisms of injury disparities to inform future preventive efforts.