Rising prevalence of parent-reported learning disabilities among U.S. children and adolescents aged 6–17 years: NSCH, 2016–2023

Abstract

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) among children is a critical public health issue; however, recent LD prevalence estimates among children and adolescents aged 6–17 years, as reported by the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), remain largely unexplored. Data for this population-based cross-sectional study were obtained from NSCH to estimate the prevalence of LD diagnosis among U.S. children at both national and state levels, and to inspect the 8-year trends in these estimates from 2016 to 2023. Among 221,244 U.S. children, 20,644 had a history of LD diagnosis, with a weighted prevalence of 8.85% (95% CI  = 8.59–9.10). Of these, 19,289 were currently diagnosed with LD, yielding a weighted prevalence of 8.26% (95% CI  = 8.01–8.51). From 2016 to 2023, the prevalence of ever-diagnosed LD increased from 7.86% to 9.15%, while that of current-diagnosed LD rose from 7.32% to 8.66%, representing relative increases of 16.4% and 18.3%, respectively. The state with the highest prevalence (New Hampshire) had twice that of the state with the lowest prevalence (Utah). This study highlights a critical escalation in LD prevalence among U.S. children and adolescents between 2016 and 2023. Comprehensive screening and support programs must be implemented to enhance early identification and intervention.