Trial reportEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2018
A double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial of omega-3 supplementation in children with moderate ADHD symptoms.
Trial report in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 9 of them syntheses 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse event monitoring, assessment, and reporting in nutraceutical and phytoceutical trials for pediatric neuropsychiatric conditions: A systematic review.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for depression in children and adolescents.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Psychobiotic Interventions in Children and Adolescents to Enhance Cognitive Functioning and Emotional Behavior.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Time of onset and/or diagnosis of ADHD in European children: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association of Use of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids With Changes in Severity of Anxiety Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2018Pooled it
- Omega-3/6 supplementation for mild to moderate inattentive ADHD: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy study in Italian children.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2022Trial
- Behavioral and cognitive effects of docosahexaenoic acid in drug-naïve children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation and ADHD outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation in Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Cureus · 2025Review
- Medicinal Plants for Child Mental Health: Clinical Insights, Active Compounds, and Perspectives for Rational Use.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Gut-Brain Inflammatory Pathways in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Role and Therapeutic Potential of Diet.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Nutritional Quality Implications: Exploring the Impact of a Fatty Acid-Rich Diet on Central Nervous System Development.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Nutrition in the Management of ADHD: A Review of Recent Research.Current nutrition reports · 2023Review
- Do Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Follow a Different Dietary Pattern than That of Their Control Peers?Nutrients · 2022Article
- Targeting PI3K by Natural Products: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 8 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveClinical trials and inconclusive meta-analyses have investigated the effects of omega-3 supplements in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We performed a randomised placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids.
methodsChildren aged 6-15 years with established diagnosis of ADHD were randomised 1:1 to receive either supplements containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or a placebo for 3 months. Psychotropic or omega-3-containing treatments were not authorised during the study. The primary outcome was the change in the Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale version 4 (ADHD-RS-IV). Other outcomes included safety, lexical level (Alouette test), attention (Test of Attentional Performance for Children-KiTAP), anxiety (48-item Conners Parent Rating Scale-Revised-CPRS-R), and depression (Children's Depression Inventory-CDI).
resultsBetween 2009 and 2011, 162 children were included in five French child psychiatry centres. The mean age was 9.90 (SD 2.62) years and 78.4% were boys. The inclusion ADHD-RS-IV at was 37.31 (SD 8.40). The total ADHD-RS-IV score reduction was greater in the placebo group than in the DHA-EPA group: -19 (-26, -12) % and -9.7 (-16.6, -2.9) %, respectively, p = 0.039. The other components of the Conners score had a similar variation but the differences between groups were not significant. Two patients in the DHA-EPA group and none in the placebo group experienced a severe adverse event (hospitalisation for worsening ADHD symptoms).
conclusionThis study did not show any beneficial effect of omega-3 supplement in children with mild ADHD symptoms.
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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.