Identifying cross-cultural variations in psychostimulant use for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder using linked data

Background To validate the association between country-of-birth and disparities in the stimulant use for ADHD among individuals in Western Australia. Methods Using linked data, a population-based retrospective cohort of individuals admitted to hospital before age 25 years was followed through to identify having stimulants for ADHD in 2003–2007. Multivariate logistic and linear regressions were used to characterise associations between stimulants and country-of-birth, geographical remoteness and socioeconomic status. Results Of 679,645 individuals, 14,122 (2.1%) had a record of having stimulants for ADHD. Of these, 205 (1.5%) were born in Africa, Asia, Middle-East or South America, while 13,664 (96.8%) were born in Australia/New Zealand, Europe or North America. Individuals with traditionally non-Anglophonic backgrounds were around one-half as likely to have stimulants as individuals with Anglophonic backgrounds (OR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.46–0.61, p