New research supports value of omega-3 supplements in reducing ADHD symptoms

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may improve markedly when they receive high doses of omega-3 fatty acids, according to new research that strongly supports several earlier findings.

In an eight-week, non-placebo-controlled trial, Paul Sorgi and colleagues administered eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to nine children with ADHD. The children, six boys and three girls, ranged in age from 8 to 16; six had combined symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention problems, while three primarily had attention problems.

Halfway through the study the researchers adjusted each child’s dosage to target an optimal ratio of EPA to the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) as measured in tests of blood plasma phospholipids. Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential to health, but the balance of the two is important.

Americans eat large amounts of omega-6 fatty acids and small amounts of omega-3’s—an imbalance many scientists believe contributes to both mental and physical problems. The researchers’ goal in this study was to reach or come close to the ratio of AA to EPA found in people in Japan, who eat much more balanced amounts of these two fatty acid groups.

Sorgi and colleagues report that supplementation resulted in significant increases in the children’s EPA and DHA levels, as well as a reduction in the ratio of AA to EPA. The children also showed reductions in inattention, hyperactivity, oppositional/defiant behavior, and conduct disorder. On average, the children’s “severity of illness” score, as measured by the Clinical Global Impression Scale, dropped from “moderately symptomatic” to “mildly symptomatic.” (The only two children who scored in the “markedly symptomatic” range at both the beginning and the end of the study were those who failed to take the supplements consistently.) Improvement occurred both in children taking ADHD medications and in those not undergoing drug treatment.

These findings are consistent with data from several other studies, among them:

• Two separate studies (one by Alexandra Richardson and Paul Montgomery and the other by Natalie Sinn) found that fatty acid supplementation powerfully improved the learning and behavior of children with ADHD-related symptoms (see related articles, Crime Times, 2005, Vol. 11, No. 3, Page 1&3 and Crime Times, 2006, Vol. 12, No. 2, Page 2&6).
  
  
• A 2005 study by Joseph Hibbeln (see related article, Crime Times, 2005, Vol. 11, No. 2, Page 1&4) indicated a strong link between imbalances of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and aggression.