There has been a significant rise in the diagnosing of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Finland.
In a press statement, social benefits agency Kela noted that it paid out some 22 million euros in reimbursements for ADHD medication last year.
That figure represents an increase of about 28 percent on 2022, when the amount was around 17 million euros.
The statement further revealed that more than 100,000 people claimed the reimbursement in 2023, up from about 41,000 in 2019 and from just 12,000 in 2013.
Diagnosis of the condition tends to vary between regions, falling somewhere between one and ten percent, with ADHD more likely to be diagnosed in children living in eastern parts of the country as well as in Finnish Lapland.
About 20 percent of 7 to 12 year-old boys in North Karelia have been diagnosed with ADHD, and parents in the region recently told Helsingin Sanomat that they felt pressured to start their kids on ADHD medication at a young age, even from five years old.
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