New data from Hesse reveals a sharp increase in ADHD diagnoses among girls, highlighting evolving awareness and diagnostic practices for childhood mental health across Germany, and raising questions about the pandemic’s long-term impact.
Children in Hesse are being diagnosed with ADHD for the first time at a markedly faster rate than the German average, with the sharpest shift pointing to girls whose symptoms may previously have been missed. DAK-Gesundheit’s latest children and young people’s report estimates that about 15,400 children and teenagers in the state received a first diagnosis in 2024, a rise of 24 per cent on the previous year. Nationally, the increase was 16 per cent, or roughly 202,000 new cases, according to figures reported by Die Zeit, Deutsches Ärzteblatt and Der Spiegel.
The local picture still shows boys far more likely to be diagnosed than girls. In Hesse, around 10,200 boys and 5,200 girls were newly diagnosed in 2024, leaving boys at roughly twice the total. But the faster growth is among girls: first diagnoses in Hesse rose by about 32 per cent for girls, compared with 20 per cent for boys. The national data point the same way. Die Zeit and G+G reported roughly 136,500 boys and 65,000 girls receiving a first diagnosis across Germany in 2024, while the year-on-year rise among girls was 21 per cent and their increase since 2020 was about 46 per cent.
The age profile is just as striking. While Hesse’s report says the most affected group was primary-school children aged five to nine, the broader German analysis adds that the fastest annual rise came among 10- to 14-year-olds. According to Die Zeit and Deutsches Ärzteblatt, first diagnoses in that age band climbed by 22 per cent, to about 18.3 per 1,000 children, up from roughly 14.9 per 1,000 a year earlier. Even so, the highest rate overall remained among five- to nine-year-olds, at nearly 24 first diagnoses per 1,000.
That means the issue is not confined to a one-year surge in new cases. In Hesse, 4.8 per cent of children and young people aged three to 17 were receiving medical care for ADHD in 2024. Nationally, DAK put the share at 5.2 per cent. Der Spiegel said that amounted to roughly 617,000 children and adolescents across Germany living with an ADHD diagnosis last year, up from about 556,500 in 2019 and above the pandemic-era low of 540,500 recorded in 2022. The report therefore suggests a sustained high level of treatment, not simply a blip in referrals.
Specialists quoted around the release have pushed back against the idea that the rise is a passing social trend. Christoph U. Correll, director of child and adolescent psychiatry, psychosomatics and psychotherapy at Berlin’s Charité, argued in comments reported by G+G and highlighted by Deutschlandfunk that the figures should not be dismissed as a “Modediagnose”. He said ADHD has a strong biological basis, although pressure, stress and environmental influences can shape how strongly it shows up in day-to-day life. Correll also pointed to possible delayed effects from the pandemic, better awareness among doctors, parents and teachers, and heavier social-media use, which he said can undermine concentration and raise stress.
The increase among girls has become a central part of that debate. Doctors cited in the DAK coverage said girls have long been underdiagnosed because their difficulties often appear less disruptive and less outwardly hyperactive than boys’. That helps explain why the percentage rise in new diagnoses is now stronger among girls even though boys still dominate the totals. It also fits a broader pattern in recent DAK reporting, which has repeatedly found that girls’ mental-health problems can be missed until they become harder to ignore.
Even so, the data do not settle every argument. Der Spiegel noted that the DAK analysis does not show how much of the increase may reflect catch-up after the pandemic, when disrupted schooling, delayed assessments and altered family routines may have postponed recognition of symptoms. Michael Hubmann, president of the professional association for paediatricians, called the jump among girls “particularly remarkable” and said the response should be a redesign of care, with structured multiprofessional outpatient services, clearer diagnostic pathways and enough time for discussions with families and schools.
The wider significance goes beyond Hesse. BR24, carrying the same findings, described ADHD as the most common psychiatric disorder in childhood and adolescence and noted that it can continue into adulthood. Taken together, the latest figures suggest two things at once: the condition remains heavily concentrated in boys and in the primary-school years, but the system is increasingly identifying girls who may have been overlooked for years. For health services and schools, that makes the rise less a curiosity in the statistics than a test of whether support can keep pace with recognition.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
