Adults too: increase of 21% in taking Ritalin pills

Adults are also taking Ritalin - according to figures published by Clalit Health Services. Towards an International Conference on ADHD, data which indicate that in recent years there was a sharp increase of 21 percent in taking Ritalin and Concerta, among those aged 22 and above, were published.

"The awareness has grown to a large extent. Those who come for diagnosis are not only aged 20, 30 or 40, but also 60 years old, and I even had patients aged 70, who had not been diagnosed, suffered and paid the price for all of their lives. This is a real problem and not a trend," says Dr. Iris Manor, psychiatric child and adolescent and an expert in treating ADD at the Geha Mental Health Center of Clalit, to Yisrael Hayom.

She said that some adults taking Ritalin are also parents of children diagnosed with ADHD: "When I sit with children I ask a lot of questions and then sometimes one parent moves uneasily or starts laughing or looks at fault. Parents identify themselves as living with ADHD through their children ".

"They used to diagnose these people as suffering from depression or anxiety. 70 percent of diagnosed adult patients are treated with Ciperklas or Prozac, after in addition to ADHD, depression and anxiety developed too. Many times after the start of treatment one can gradually reduce the treatment by these drugs."

According to Dr. Manor, five to seven percent of the population have ADHD.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!