More parents are reporting that their children have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at some point in their lives than earlier in the decade, according to the CDC.

The percentage of children and teens ages 4 to 17 with a parent-reported ADHD diagnosis increased from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007, researchers from the agency's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and from the National Center for Health Statistics reported in the Nov. 12 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The findings are consistent with other reports using different sets of data.

"Increasing rates of estimated ADHD prevalence might indicate an actual increase in the number of cases of ADHD or changes in diagnostic practice over time, which might have been influenced by increased awareness of the disorder over the period of study," according to an accompanying editorial note.