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Annals of General Psychiatry
Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Primary research

The effect of dietary education on ADHD, a randomized controlled clinical trial

Authors: Ahmad Ghanizadeh, Behzad Haddad

Published in: Annals of General Psychiatry | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of the overall dietary intervention rather than a single nutrient on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods

This is a randomized controlled trial conducted at a child psychiatry clinic in Iran. Participants were 106 children and adolescents with ADHD.
One group received methylphenidate plus dietary recommendations, while the other group only received methylphenidate. ADHD DSM-IV checklist was used to assess inattentiveness and hyperactivity/impulsivity scores at baseline and at the end of the trial.

Results

The results revealed no significant difference between the two groups regarding mean age, gender ratio, body mass index, baseline inattentiveness score, and baseline hyperactivity score. Linear regression analysis considering the covariant variables showed that the inattentive score at the end of the trial was significantly associated with the mean change of favorite diet scores.

Conclusion

This is the first clinical trial examining the effect of overall dietary characteristics rather than a single nutrient on the children formally diagnosed with ADHD. According to the results, un-favorite diet had no effects on inattentive or hyperactivity/impulsivity score. Encouraging the children with ADHD to increase their intake of recommended diet markedly improves their attention.

Trial registration

The trial was registered at the Iranian Clinical Trials Registry (Irct ID: IRCT201311303930​N29).
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Metadata
Title
The effect of dietary education on ADHD, a randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors
Ahmad Ghanizadeh
Behzad Haddad
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Annals of General Psychiatry / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1744-859X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-015-0050-6

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