ADHD Management Information - November 2025

ADHD prevalence figures produced from OpenSAFELY were compared to data from ‘The Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities’ publication which includes data on patients with a recorded ADHD diagnosis from GP practices using EMIS and Cegedim systems. The recorded prevalence of ADHD was found to be consistent across both primary care datasets.

In 2024/25, 55.9% of males with ADHD had ADHD medication prescribed since their diagnosis, a decrease from 57.3% in 2016/17. For females, 45.7% of patients in 2024/25 with ADHD had been prescribed ADHD medication compared to 50.6% in 2016/17. There has been a year-on-year decrease in the prescribing of ADHD medication for both males and females with an ADHD diagnosis since 2020/21. Breakdowns by age show a similar decrease in prevalence in 10 to 17 and 18 to 24 year olds with a prevalence rate of 66.9% and 66.3% respectively in 2020/21 to 55.7% and 61.8% in 2024/25.

A national supply shortage of ADHD medication was announced by the Government in autumn 2023 that may have impacted these figures.

In 2024/25, 0.10% of all patients had received a prescription for ADHD medication (at any point in time) and had no recorded ADHD diagnosis compared to 0.09% in 2016/17. Some patients may receive ADHD medication before receiving a formal diagnosis, however some drugs used to treat ADHD may also be prescribed to treat other conditions. It is not possible to identify which patients have been prescribed ADHD medication for a condition unrelated to ADHD who then subsequently receive an ADHD diagnosis.

27.2% of males and 29.2% of females with a recorded ADHD diagnosis were prescribed ADHD medication in the 6 months prior to March 2025. This is a decrease from 27.5% of males but an increase from 28.6% of females prescribed ADHD medication in the 6 months prior March 2017. The national shortage in ADHD medication from autumn 2023 should be considered when interpreting these figures.

A greater proportion of females with ADHD have had a prescription for ADHD medication in the last 6 months compared to males – this is consistent over time. In contrast there are a higher number of males than females with ADHD who are prescribed ADHD medication, again this trend is consistent over time.

Patients with ADHD aged 10 to 17 account for the highest proportion of all people with ADHD who were prescribed medication in the last 6 months, with 49.3% prescribed medication in the 6 months prior to March 2017 decreasing to 37.0% in the 6 months prior March 2025.

Patients aged 10 to 17 have the highest median time between receiving an ADHD diagnosis and being prescribed ADHD medication – 36 weeks in 2024/25 compared to 18 weeks in 2016/17. Prior to 2023/24 males had a higher median time from receiving a diagnosis to being prescribed medication, from 2023/24 onwards both males and females have the same median waiting time.

Figures 8 and 9 shows the median time between the patient’s first diagnosis date and first ADHD medication prescription. For each given financial year, the count corresponds to the number of patients whose first medication is within given year. The median is calculated for each sex and age band. When a patient is counted in a given year, they cannot appear in subsequent years.

Patients may be titrated and stabilised on ADHD medicines by NHS providers, including Right to Choose providers. This prescribing data may not be included on the GP system and therefore will not be recorded in OpenSAFELY. Therefore, some patients may be included in the above counts that have been prescribed ADHD medication before the first ADHD medication date recorded on their GP record.