The director of the UIC Barcelona Research Institute for Evaluation and Public Policies, Dr Toni Mora, together with other researchers from national and international universities, has published an article in which he analyses direct healthcare differential costs for the non-adult ADHD in Catalonia.

The article revealed that children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Catalonia had annual healthcare costs of 610 euros compared to their undiagnosed counterparts. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that appears in early childhood and whose main symptoms are hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. 

It is the most common mental disorder among young children with a global prevalence ranging from 3% to 7% (the average is around 5%) of school-age children and is increasing over time. In Catalonia it stands at 4.7%.

Toni Mora is director of the Research Institute for Evaluation and Public Policies at UIC Barcelona, whose main objective is to improve individual and social decisions in health and education through multidisciplinary research. Likewise, the Institute aims to promote informed decision-making, both in health and education, basic foundations of the welfare state.