ArticleChiropractic & osteopathy2010
Chiropractic care for paediatric and adolescent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A systematic review.
Article in Chiropractic & osteopathy, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03849807 (The Effects of Chiropractic Care on Behavior, Neurological Function and Quality of Life in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effects of Chiropractic Care on Behavior, Neurological Function and Quality of Life in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the Effects of Pharmacological, Psychosocial, and Alternative/Complementary Interventions in Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Meta-Regression Approach.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- East Asian traditional medicine for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: a scoping review.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Chiropractic Care in Children: A Review of Evidence and Safety.Clinical pediatrics · 2025Review
- The effects of chiropractic adjustment on inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a pilot RCT.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Spinal manipulation and mobilisation in the treatment of infants, children, and adolescents: a systematic scoping review.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
- The Effects of Spinal Manipulation on Oculomotor Control in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Pilot and Feasibility Study.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Complementary and alternative medicine use among children with mental health issues: results from the National Health Interview Survey.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018Article
- Clinical effectiveness of manual therapy for the management of musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions: systematic review and update of UK evidence report.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2014Article
- Chiropractic management of a patient with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Journal of chiropractic medicine · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPsychostimulants are first line of therapy for paediatric and adolescent AD/HD. The evidence suggests that up to 30% of those prescribed stimulant medications do not show clinically significant outcomes. In addition, many children and adolescents experience side-effects from these medications. As a result, parents are seeking alternate interventions for their children. Complementary and alternative medicine therapies for behavioural disorders such as AD/HD are increasing with as many as 68% of parents having sought help from alternative practitioners, including chiropractors.
objectiveThe review seeks to answer the question of whether chiropractic care can reduce symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity for paediatric and adolescent AD/HD.
methodsElectronic databases (Cochrane CENTRAL register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic reviews, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Index to Chiropractic Literature) were searched from inception until July 2009 for English language studies for chiropractic care and AD/HD. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to select studies. All randomised controlled trials were evaluated using the Jadad score and a checklist developed from the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines.
resultsThe search yielded 58 citations of which 22 were intervention studies. Of these, only three studies were identified for paediatric and adolescent AD/HD cohorts. The methodological quality was poor and none of the studies qualified using inclusion criteria.
conclusionsTo date there is insufficient evidence to evaluate the efficacy of chiropractic care for paediatric and adolescent AD/HD. The claim that chiropractic care improves paediatric and adolescent AD/HD, is only supported by low levels of scientific evidence. In the interest of paediatric and adolescent health, if chiropractic care for AD/HD is to continue, more rigorous scientific research needs to be undertaken to examine the efficacy and effectiveness of chiropractic treatment. Adequately-sized RCTs using clinically relevant outcomes and standardised measures to examine the effectiveness of chiropractic care verses no-treatment/placebo control or standard care (pharmacological and psychosocial care) are needed to determine whether chiropractic care is an effective alternative intervention for paediatric and adolescent AD/HD.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.