The References below are a key element to the HACSG’s Guide on the Management of ADHD / Hyperactivity which is now available free-of-charge: Download the HACSG Booklet
Essential Fatty Acids
Aman, M.G., Mitchell, E.A., Turbo, S.H., 1987. The effects of essential fatty acid supplementation by Efamol in hyperactive children. J. Abnormal Child Psychology, 15: 75 – 90.
Antalis, C.J., Stevens, L.J., Campbell, M., Pazdro, R., Ericson, K., Burgess, J.R., 2006. Omega-3 fatty acid status in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fat. Acids, 75(4–5): 299 – 308.
Arnold, L.E., Kleykamp, D., Votolato, N., Gibson, R.A., Horrocks, L., 1994. Potential link between dietary intake of fatty acids and behavior: pilot exploration of serum lipids in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. J. Child Adolesc. Psychopharmacol., 4:171 – 82.
Bekaroglu, M., Aslan, Y., Gedik, Y., et al., 1996. Relationships between serum free fatty acids and zinc, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 37(2): 225 – 227.
Bloch, M.H., Qawasmi, A., 2011. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for the treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomatology: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(10): 991 – 1000.
Brue, A.W., Oakland, T.D., Evans, R.A., et al., 2001. The use of a dietary supplement combination and an essential fatty acid as an alternative and complementary treatment for children with attention-deficit⁄ hyperactivity disorder. Sci. Rev. Altern. Med., 5: 187 – 94.
Burgess, J.R., Stevens, L., Zhang, W., Peck, L., 2000. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in children. Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 71(1): 327S 330S.
Busch, B., 2007. Polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for ADHD? Fishy, fascinating, and far from clear. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr., 28: 139 – 44.
Chalon, S., 2009. The role of fatty acids in the treatment of ADHD. Neuropharmacology, 57(7): 636 – 639.
Chen, J.R., Hsu, S.F., Hsu, C.D., Hwang, L.H., Yang, S.C., 2004. Dietary patterns and blood fatty acid composition in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in Taiwan. J Nutr Biochem., 15: 467 – 472.
Colquhoun I., Bunday S., 1981. A lack of essential fatty acids as a possible cause of hyperactivity in children. Med Hypotheses, 7: 673 – 9.
Colter, A.L., Cutler, C., Meckling, K.A., 2008. Fatty acid status and behavioural symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adolescents: A case-control study. Nutr. J. 7(8): doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-7-8.
Harding, K.L., Judah, R.D., Gant, C., 2003. Outcome-based comparison of Ritalin versus food-supplement treated children with AD ⁄ HD. Altern. Med. Rev., 8: 319 – 30.
Huss, M., Völp, A., Stauss-Grabo, M., 2010. Supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium and zinc in children seeking medical advice for attention-deficit/hyperactivity problems-an observational cohort study. Lipids Health Dis., 9(1): 105, doi/10.1186/1476-511X-9-105.
Johnson, M., Ostlund, S., Fransson, G., et al., 2009. Omega-3 ⁄ omega-6 fatty acids for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in children and adolescents. J. Atten. Disord., 12: 394 – 401.
Joshi, K., Lad, S., Kale, M., et al., 2006. Supplementation with flax oil and vitamin C improves the outcome of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids, 74: 17 – 21.
Lopez-Vicente, M., et al., 2019. Prenatal omega-6:omega-3 ratio and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder symptoms. J. Pediatr., 209: 204 – 211.
Mitchell, E.A., Aman, M.G., Turbott, S.H., et al., 1987. Clinical characteristics and serum essential fatty acid levels in hyperactive children. Clin. Pediatr. (Phila), 26: 406 – 11.
Raz, R., Gabis, L., 2009. Essential fatty acids and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 51: 580 – 592.
Raz, R., Carasso, R.L., Yehuda, S., 2009. The influence of short-chain essential fatty acids on children with attention deficit⁄ hyperactivity disorder: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. J. Child Adolesc. Psychopharmacol., 19: 167 – 77.
Richardson, A.J., Puri, B.K., 2000. The potential role of fatty acids in attention-deficit⁄ hyperactivity disorder. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent, Fatty Acids, 63: 79 – 87.
Richardson, A.J., Puri, B.K., 2002. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of supplementation with highly unsaturated fatty acids on ADHD-related symptoms in children with specific learning difficulties. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol Biol. Psych., 26: 233–39.
Richardson, A.J., 2004. Clinical trials of fatty acid treatment in ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and the autistic spectrum. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids, 70: 383 – 90.
Sinn, N., 2007. Physical fatty acid deficiency signs in children with ADHD symptoms. Prostaglandins Leukot. Essent. Fatty Acids, 77: 109 – 15.
Sinn, N., Bryan, J., 2007. Effect of supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids and micronutrients on learning and behavior problems associated with child ADHD. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr., 28: 82 – 91.
Stevens, L.J., Zentall, S.S., Deck, J.L., et al., 1995. Essential fatty acid metabolism in boys with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 62: 761 – 68.
Stevens, L., Zhang, W., Peck, L., et al., 2003. EFA supplementation in children with inattention, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors. Lipids, 38: 1007 – 21.
Voigt, R.G., Llorente, A.M., Jensen, C.L., et al., 2001. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation in children with attention-deficit⁄ hyperactivity disorder. J Pediatr., 139: 189–96. Young, G.S., Conquer, J.A., Thomas, R., 2005. Effect of randomized supplementation with high dose olive, flax or fish oil on serum phospholipid fatty acid levels in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Reprod. Nutr. Dev., 45: 549 – 58.
Vitamins
Elshorbagy, H.H., Barseem, N.F., Abdelghani, W.E., Suliman, H.AI, Al-Shokary, A.H., Abdulsamea, S.E., et al., 2018. Impact of vitamin D supplementation on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Ann. Pharmacother., 52(7): 623 – 31.
Hemamy, M., Pahlavani, N., Amanollahi, A. et al., 2021. The effect of vitamin D and magnesium supplementation on the mental health status of attention-deficit hyperactive children: a randomized controlled trial. BMC. Pediatr., 21: 178, doi/10.1186/s12887-021-02631-1.
Johnson, S.R., Zelig, R., Parker, A., 2020. Vitamin D status of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Top Clin. Nutr., 35(3): 222 – 39.
Kotsi, E., Kotsi, E., Perrea, D.N., 2019. Vitamin D levels in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a meta-analysis. Atten Deficit Hyperactivity Disord.,11(3): 221 – 32.
Meyer, T., Becker, A., Sundermann, J., Rothenberger, A., Herrmann-Lingen, C., 2017. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is associated with reduced blood pressure and serum vitamin D levels: results from the nationwide German health interview and examination survey for children and adolescents (KiGGS). Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 26(2): 165 – 75.
Mohammadpour, N., Jazayeri, S., Tehrani-Doost, M., Djalali, M., Hosseini, M., Effatpanah, M., et al., 2018. Effect of vitamin D supplementation as adjunctive therapy to methylphenidate on ADHD symptoms: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutr Neurosci., 21(3): 202 – 9.
Naeini, A.A., Fasihi, F., Najafi, M., Ghazvini, M.R., Hasanzadeh, A., 2019. The effects of vitamin D supplementation on ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in 6–13 year-old students: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Eur. J. Integr. Med., 25: 28 – 33. Villagomez, A., Ramtekkar, U., 2014. Iron, magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc deficiencies in children presenting with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Children (Basel, Switzerland), 1(3): 261 – 79.
Minerals and Trace Elements
Akhondzadeh, S., Mohammadi, M.R., Khademi, M., 2004. Zinc sulfate as an adjunct to methylphenidate for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: A double blind, randomized trial. BMC Psychiatry, 4(9): doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-4-9.
Arnold, L.E., DiSilvestro, R.A., 2005. Zinc in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 15(4): 619 – 627.
Arnold, L.E., Hurt, E., Lofthouse, N., 2013. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: dietary and nutritional treatments. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 22(3): 381 – 402.
Bloch, M.H., Mulqueen, J., 2014. Nutritional supplements for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Adolesc. Psychiatr. Clin. N. Am., 23(4): 883 – 897.
Darling, K.A., Eggleston, M.J.F., Retallick-Brown, H., Rucklidge, J.J., 2019. Mineral-vitamin treatment associated with remission in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and related problems: 1-year naturalistic outcomes of a 10-week randomized placebo-controlled trial. J. Child Adolesc. Psychopharmacol., 29(9): 688 – 704.
Dodig-Curkovic, K., Dovhanj, J., Curkovic, M., Dodig-Radic, J., Degmecic, D., 2009. The role of zinc in the treatment of hyperactivity disorder in children. Acta Med. Croatica, 63: 307 – 13.
Effatpanah, M., Rezaei, M., Effatpanah, H., Effatpanah, Z., Varkaneh, H.K., Mousavi, S.M., et al., 2019. Magnesium status and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res., 274: 228 – 34.
Elbaz, F., Zahra, S., Hanafy, H., 2017. Magnesium, zinc and copper estimation in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Egypt J. Med. Human Genet.,18(2): 153 – 63.
Ghanizadeh, A. 2013. A systematic review of magnesium therapy for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Archives of Iranian Medicine, 16(7): 412 – 417.
Ghanizadeh, A., Berk, M., 2013. Zinc for treating of children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(1): 122 – 124.
Hariri, M., Azadbakht, L., 2015. Magnesium, iron, and zinc supplementation for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review on the recent literature. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 6: 1–10.
Hawari, I., Eskandar, M. B. & Alzeer, S., 2020. The role of lead, manganese, and zinc in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and attention-deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A case-control study on Syrian children affected by the Syrian crisis. Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 197: 107 – 114.
Hurt, E.A., Arnold, L.E., Lofthouse, N., 2011. Dietary and nutritional treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: current research support and recommendations for practitioners. Current Psychiatry Reports, 13(5): 323 – 332.
Konofal, E., Lecendreux, M., Deron, J., et al., 2008. Effects of iron supplementation on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Pediatric Neurology, 38(1): 20 – 26.
Kozielec, T., Starobrat-Hermelin, B., Kotkowiak, L., 1994. Deficiency of certain trace elements in children with hyperactivity (Polish) Psychiatr Pol., 28: 345 – 353.
Lange, K.W., 2020. Micronutrients and diets in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Chances and pitfalls. Front Psychiatry, 26: 11, 102, doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00102.
Lepping, P., Huber, M., 2010. Role of zinc in the pathogenesis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Implications for research and treatment. CNS Drugs, 24: 721 – 728.
Luo, J., Mo, Y. & Liu, M., 2020. Blood and hair zinc levels in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis. Asian J. Psychiatry, 47: 101805.
Mahmoud, M.M., El-Mazary, A.A., Maher, R.M., Saber, M.M., 2011. Zinc, ferritin, magnesium and copper in a group of Egyptian children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 37: 60.
Oner, O., Oner, P., Bozkurt, O.H., Odabas, E., Keser, N., Karadag, H., et al., 2010. Effects of zinc and ferritin levels on parent and teacher reported symptom scores in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Psychiatry Hum. Dev., 41: 441 – 7.
Rucklidge, J.J., Johnstone, J., Kaplan, B.J., 2009. Nutrient supplementation approaches in the treatment of ADHD. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 9(4): 461 – 476.
Rucklidge, J.J., Frampton, C.M., Gorman, B., Boggis, A., 2017. Vitamin-mineral treatment of ADHD in adults. J. Atten. Disord., 21(6): 522 – 532.
Rucklidge, J.J., Eggleston, M.J.F., Johnstone, J.M., Darling, K., Frampton, C.M., 2018. Vitamin-mineral treatment improves aggression and emotional regulation in children with ADHD: a fully blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Child Psychol. Psychiatry, 9(3): 232 – 246.
Salehi, B., Mohammadbeigi, A., Sheykholeslam, H., Moshiri, E., Dorreh, F., 2016. Omega-3 and Zinc supplementation as complementary therapies in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J. Res. Pharm. Pract., 5(1): 22 – 26.
Sandyk, R., 1990. Zinc deficiency in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Int. J. Neurosci., 52, 239 – 241.
Setiawati, Y., Mukono, H., Wahyuhadi, J., Warsiki, E., 2019. The influence of lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), ratio lead (Pb) to zinc (Zn) in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Indian J. Public Health Res. Dev., 10: 1497 – 1502.
Skalny, A.V., Mazaletskaya, A.L., Ajsuvakova, O.P., Bjørklund, G., Skalnaya, M.G., Chernova, L.N., et al., 2020. Magnesium status in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or autism spectrum disorder. J. Korean Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 31(1): 41 – 5.
Starobrat-Hermelin, B., Kozielec, T., 1997. The effects of magnesium physiological supplementation on hyperactivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Positive response to magnesium oral loading test. Magnes. Res.,10(2): 149 – 56.
Tinkov, A. A., et al, 2019. ICP-MS assessment of hair essential trace elements and minerals in Russian preschool and primary school children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 196, 400 – 409.
Tippairote, T., Temviriyanukul, P., Benjapong, W., Trachootham, D., 2017. Hair zinc and severity of symptoms are increased in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder: A hair multi-element profile study. Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 179: 185 – 194.
Toren, P., Eldar, S., Sela, B.A., et al., 1996. Zinc deficiency in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 40(12): 1308 – 1310.
Viktorinova, A., et al., 2016. Changed plasma levels of zinc and copper to zinc ratio and their possible associations with parent-and teacher-rated symptoms in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 169: 1 – 7.
Villagomez, A., Ramtekkar, U., 2014. Iron, magnesium, vitamin D, and zinc deficiencies in children presenting with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Children, 1: 261 – 279.
Ward, N.I., Soulsbury, K.A., Zettel, V.H., Colquhoun, I.D., Bunday, S., Barnes, B., 1990. The influence of the chemical additive tartrazine on the zinc status of hyperactive children: A double-blind placebo-controlled study. J. Nutr. Med., 1: 51 – 58.
Ward, N.I., 1997. Assessment of chemical factors in relation to child hyperactivity. J Nutr Environ Med (Abingdon), 7: 333 – 342.
Yang, R., et al., 2019. Blood levels of trace elements in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: Results from a case-control study. Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 187: 376–382.
Yorbik, O., Ozdag, M.F., Olgun, A., Senol, M.G., Bek, S., Akman, S., 2008. Potential effects of zinc on information processing in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol. Psychiatry, 32: 662 – 7.
Yousef, S., et al., 2011. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and environmental toxic metal exposure in the United Arab Emirates. J. Trop. Pediatr., 57: 457 – 460.
Zamora, J., Velasquez, A., Troncoso, L., Barra, P., Guajardo, K., Castillo-Duran, C., 2011. Zinc in the therapy of the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. A preliminar randomized controlled trial. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutricion, 61(3): 242 – 246.
The HACSG Food & Behaviour Diary is now available online. 