Self-Reported Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Students and Factors Affecting It
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51273/esc25.251321123Keywords:
Attention, Self, StudentsAbstract
Abstract
Objective: To evaluated the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in medical students and its
associated factors.
Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in the Department of Community
Medicine of Aziz Fatimah medical and dental college Faisalabad. The study lasted for six months from July
2023 to December 2023. The total sample size was 300. Non-probability quota sampling was done. Almost
st th 60 students were taken from every class from 1 year MBBS to 5 year MBBS. Ethical approval was taken
beforehand. The questionnaire consisted three parts: sociodemographic data, adult attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder self-reported scale and questions about participants physical activity, sleep patterns
and total screen time. The online questionnaire was distributed to each class of MBBS through social media
platforms. Data was the analyzed on SPSS 25. For categorical data, frequency and percentages were
calculated. For comparing categorical data, chi-square was employed. A significance level of p < 0.05 was
used.
Results: About one-third participants (n = 90, 30%) showed symptoms consistent with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder and more than one-third (n = 125, 41.6%) have excessive sleepiness. Significant
relationship was seen between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with sleep scale and total screen time.
Conclusion: Medical students have a relatively high prevalence of self-reported attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Self-reported symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are
significantly correlated with sleep disorders and extended screen use. Therefore, modifying sleep patterns
and reducing screen time may aid in the prevention and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
symptoms.
Keywords: Attention, Self, Students
How to cite: Din M, Shafi A, Babar M, Maqbool B, Bajwa M, Shazia. Self-Reported Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder Among Students and Factors Affecting It. Esculapio - JSIMS 2024;20(04): 127-133
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51273/esc25.251321123
References
Hinshaw SP, Nguyen PT, O'Grady SM, Rosenthal
E A. Annual Research Review:
Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls and
women: underrepresentation, longitudinal processes,
and key directions. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry.
;63(4):484-96. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13574.
Gnanavel S, Sharma P, Kaushal P, Hussain S.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and
comorbidity: A review of literature. World J Clin
Cases. 2019;7(17):2420. doi: 10.12998/
wjcc.v7.i17.2420.
Njuwa KF, Simo LP, Ntani LL, Forchin AN, Parviel
C, Tianyi FLT, et al. Factors associated with
symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
among medical students in Cameroon: a web-based
cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2020;10(5). doi:
1136/bmjopen-2020-037297.
Alrahili N, Alharbi N, Alotaibi KF, Althaqel GK,
Alasmari NY, Alahmari AF, Alasmari OY, Alshahrani
MS, Alghamdi LA, Alrashed HA, Shugair NA. Adult
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
among residents of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional
study. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2023 Nov
;27(22).
Shi M, Du TJ. Associations of personality traits with
internet addiction in Chinese medical students: The
mediating role of attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder symptoms. BMC Psychiatry. 2019;19(1):1
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2173-9.
Eke H, Ford T, Newlove-Delgado T, Price A, Young
S, Ani C, et al. Transition between child and adult
services for young people with attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): findings from a
British national surveillance study. Br J Psychiatry.
;217(5):616-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/
bjp.2019.131.
Jangmo A, Stålhandske A, Chang Z, Chen Q,
Almqvist C, Feldman I, et al. Attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder, school performance,
and effect of medication. J Am Acad Child Adolesc
Psychiatry. 2019;58(4):423-32. https://doi.org/
1016/j.jaac.2018.11.014.
Mokobane M, Pillay BJ, Meyer A. Fine motor
deficits and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in
primary school children. S AFR J PSYCHI. 2019;25.
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v25i0.1232.
Shen Y, Zhang Y, Chan BSM, Meng F, Yang T, Luo X,
et al. Association of ADHD symptoms, depression
and suicidal behaviors with anxiety in Chinese
medical college students. BMC Psychiatry.
;20(1):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888
-02555-7
Kessler RC, Adler L, Ames M, Demler O, Faraone S,
Hiripi E, et al. The World Health Organization Adult
ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening
scale for use in the general population. Psychol. Med.
;35(2):245-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/
S0033291704002892.
Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime
sleepiness: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep
; 14(6):540-5.
Alrahili N, Aldakheel AA, AlUbied A, Almalki A,
AlBarrak A, Al-Dosari B, et al. Prevalence of Adult
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among
medical students in Riyadh City. IJMDC. (2019).
doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1543855405.
Njuwa KF, Simo LP, Ntani LL, Forchin AN, Parviel
C, Tianyi FL, Nsah B, Agbor VN. Factors associated
with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder among medical students in Cameroon: a
web-based cross-sectional study. BMJ Open.
;10(5). doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037297.
Mohammadi, M.-R., Zarafshan, H., Khaleghi, A.,
Ahmadi, N., Hooshyari, Z., Mostafavi, S.-A.,
Ahmadi, A., Alavi, S.-S., Shakiba, A., & Salmanian,
M. (2021). Prevalence of ADHD and Its
Comorbidities in a Population-Based Sample. J.
Atten. Disord. 25(8), 1058-1067.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054719886372.
Hakim Shooshtari M, Shariati B, Kamalzadeh L,
Naserbakht M, Tayefi B, Taban M. The prevalence of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Iran: An
updated systematic review. Med J I.R. Iran. 2021 Jan
;35:8. https://doi.org/10.47176/mjiri.35.8.
Watanabe T, Kondo M, Sakai M, Takabatake S,
Furukawa TA, Akechi T. Association of autism
spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder traits with depression and empathy among
medical students. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2021 Oct
:1259-65. https://doi.org/10.2147/
AMEP.S334155.
Alghamdi WA, Alzaben FN, Alhashemi HH, Shaaban
SS, Fairaq KM, Alsuliamani AS, Mahin BA, Ghurab
RA, Sehlo MG, Koenig HG. Prevalence and
Correlates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder among College Students in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia. Saudi J Med Med Sci. 2022 May
Aug;10(2):131-138. doi: 10.4103/
sjmms.sjmms_654_21.
Mohammadi, M.-R., Zarafshan, H., Khaleghi, A.,
Ahmadi, N., Hooshyari, Z., Mostafavi, S.-A.,
Ahmadi, A., Alavi, S.-S., Shakiba, A., & Salmanian,
M. (2021). Prevalence of ADHD and Its
Comorbidities in a Population-Based Sample. J.
Atten. Disord, 25(8), 1058-1067.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054719886372.
Joshi, H. M., & Angolkar, M. (2021). Prevalence of
ADHD in Primary School Children in Belagavi City,
India.
J. Atten. Disord, 25(2), 154-160.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054718780326.
Hamidzadeh A, Kharatha M, Bazghaleh M,
Basirinejad H, Aghdam NF, Ebrahimi H. The
prevalence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
and its related risk factors among children at
elementary school in Shahroud. J. educ. health
promot. 2021 Sep 30;10:341. doi:
4103/jehp.jehp_46_21.
Levelink, B., van der Vlegel, M., Mommers, M.,
Gubbels, J., Dompeling, E., Feron, F. J. M., van
Zeben-van der Aa, D. M. C. B., Hurks, P., & Thijs, C.
(2021). The Longitudinal Relationship Between
Screen Time, Sleep and a Diagnosis of Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Childhood. J.
Atten. Disord, 25(14), 2003-2013. https://doi.org/
1177/1087054720953897.
Zhang Y, Li Q, Hu W, Zhan N, Zou J, Wang J, Geng F.
The relationships between screen time and mental
health problems among Chinese adults. J. Psychiatr.
Res.. 2022 Feb 1;146:279-85. https://doi.org/
1016/j.jpsychires.2021.11.017.
Yang A, Rolls ET, Dong G, Du J, Li Y, Feng J, Cheng
W, Zhao XM. Longer screen time utilization is
associated with the polygenic risk for Attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mediation by
brain white matter microstructure. EBioMedicine.
Jun 1;80. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ebiom.2022.104039.
Fadeuilhe C, Daigre C, Richarte V, Grau-López L,
Palma-Álvarez RF, Corrales M, Ramos-Quiroga JA.
Insomnia disorder in adult attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder patients: Clinical,
comorbidity, and treatment correlates. Front
Psychiatry. 2021 May 26;12:663889.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.663889.
Suzuki T, Wada K, Nakazato M, Ohtani T, Yamazaki
M, Ikeda S. Associations between adult attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits and
sociodemographic characteristics in Japanese
workers. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.
Dec 31:759-73. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S398478.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Esculapio Journal of SIMS

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.