ReviewEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2026
Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation and ADHD outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition associated with long-term cognitive, behavioral, and social impairment. Given concerns about medication side effects and variability in treatment response, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation has been proposed as an adjunctive intervention. This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation, primarily omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]), in improving ADHD symptoms and explored potential moderators, including intervention duration, dosage, and outcome measurement tools. A systematic search of six databases identified 16 randomized controlled trials eligible for quantitative synthesis. Effect sizes were calculated as standardized mean differences using Hedges' g and pooled using random-effects models. Overall, PUFA supplementation was associated with a small, borderline statistically significant improvement in ADHD outcomes (g = - 0.24, 95% confidence interval - 0.48 to - 0.00), with substantial heterogeneity across studies. Stratified analyses indicated stronger effects on performance-based cognitive assessments than on subjective behavioral rating scales. No significant linear associations were observed between treatment effect and intervention duration or total PUFA dosage. These findings suggest that PUFA supplementation may provide modest, context-dependent benefits but is unlikely to serve as a standalone treatment. Further biomarker-informed and longer-term trials are needed to clarify its clinical role. This review was registered in PROSPERO (registration number: CRD420261350342).
Indexed as
Identifiers
42776218What 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.