












































































Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
							| Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007



	

				
						
 
	Skip to main content
	Skip to main navigation menu
		Skip to site footer


			

				
					
						Open Menu
					
										
																Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007
										

				


				
				
					
					
						
																					
				
					Home
				
										
									
										Food Science Publisher
									
								
	
									
										Functional Food Center
									
								


							
	
				
					Current
				
							
	
				
					Archives
				
							
	
				
					About
				
										
									
										About the Journal
									
								
	
									
										Aims and Scope
									
								
	
									
										Contact
									
								
	
									
										Editing Services
									
								
	
									
										Editorial Team
									
								
	
									
										Express Peer Review
									
								
	
									
										Graphical Abstract
									
								
	
									
										Journal Insights
									
								
	
									
										Privacy Statement
									
								
	
									
										Submissions
									
								


							
	
				
					Announcements
				
							
	
				
					Search
				
							



				

																						
									
										
										Search
									
								

													

					

					
								
				
					Register
				
							
	
				
					Login
				
							



					

				
			

		

						
			
				


			
		
			
				Home
			
			/
		
	
			
				Archives
			
			/
		
	
				
					Vol. 4 No. 6 (2014): June 2014
				
				/
			
	
			
									Review Articles
							
		



	
		  	 

		
	
		Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
	


	
	
		

							
					Authors

						
							
								Klaus W. Lange
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Joachim Hauser
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Shigehiko Kanaya
							
															
									Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and 
Technology, Nara
																	
																																		
	
							
								Ivo Kaunzinger
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Katharina M Lange
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Ewelina Makulska-Gertruda
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Yukiko Nakamura
							
															
									Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and 
Technology, Nara
																	
																																		
	
							
								Thomas A Sontag
							
															
									Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg
																	
																																		
	
							
								Lara Tucha
							
															
									Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, 
University of Groningen, Groningen
																	
																																		


				
			
																	
					
												DOI:
					

					
						
							https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v4i6.8
						
					
				
			

						
										
					Abstract

					Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral disorders in children. Insufficient dietary intake of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) has been suggested to have an impact on the development of symptoms of ADHD in children. Individuals with ADHD have been demonstrated to have significantly reduced blood concentrations of PUFAs and, in particular, reduced levels of omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs. These findings suggest that PUFA supplementation may reduce the attention and behavior problems associated with ADHD.
Objective: To provide an overview of the efficacy of dietary LC-PUFA supplementation in the treatment of ADHD. Methods: Literature published up until December 2013 on the effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on ADHD symptoms was obtained using a PubMed search and critically reviewed.
Results: Dietary PUFA supplementation appears to have beneficial effects on ADHD symptoms although these effects are small. The clinical relevance of these observations remains to be determined.
Conclusion: There is only limited support for the efficacy of PUFA supplementation for the core symptoms of ADHD. Given the small effect sizes regarding PUFA supplementation, it may not be a sufficient therapy for a majority of patients with ADHD.
Keywords: diet, nutrition, polyunsaturated fatty acid, PUFA, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD

				
			
			

						
																																																																											
						
		


		

						
										
					
						Downloads
					

						
								
	
													


		
	[Abstract]

	
							
	
								
	
													


		
	[Full Article]

	
							


				

						
						
				
					
						Published
					

					
																			2014-07-27
																	

				
							

			
						
										

											
							
								Issue
							

							
								
									Vol. 4 No. 6 (2014): June 2014
								
							

						
					
											
							
								Section
							

							
								Review Articles
							

						
					
									

			
						
										
					
						License
					

										Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.

By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained.

				

			
			

		

	




	




	


							



	

	

					
				About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives

 

			

		
		Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com


	










