Fish Oil Calms Kids with ADHD

Here is hope for frustrated parents...
AAP16aug05
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,16279500,00.html

A DAILY dose of fish oil helps calm children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, an Australian study suggests.

PhD psychology student Natalie Sinn, of the University of South Australia and CSIRO Nutrition, studied 145 children aged seven to 12 with ADHD over 15 weeks.

Half were given a commercially available dietary supplement containing a combination of fish oil and evening primrose oil, in a ratio of four to one.

The other group took a placebo – an inactive treatment.

In what's known as a double-blind study, parents, children and researchers did not know whether children were taking the daily fish oil capsules or the placebo.

MS Sinn said when parents were later questioned, children on the active fish oil capsules, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, showed improvements in attention, behaviour and vocabulary.

"They were able to concentrate better, they were calmer, less impulsive, that sort of thing," Ms Sinn said in an interview.

"The same improvements were not reported from children who took the placebo."

When the placebo group switched to the fish oil capsules for a further 15 weeks, they showed similar benefits.

Children recruited into the study were not taking medication for their ADHD.

They were given just under a gram of fish oil a day in the trial.

Ms Sinn said 60 per cent of the brain was composed of fats, the most important being omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil, and omega-6, like those in evening primrose oil.

She said many people in western societies were deficient in the omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in dark leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and oily fish.

"There's a growing body of research that's finding evidence of links between omega-3 deficiency and mental health problems like depression and schizophrenia," Ms Sinn said.

"Research is also suggesting that some children with developmental problems, including ADHD and dyslexia, can benefit from taking omega-3 supplements."

Ms Sinn said no adverse effects had been reported to date.

By comparison, Ritalin – a drug commonly used to treat ADHD – has been linked to suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, aggressive and violent behaviour and heart problems.

Ms Sinn said the fish oil in her study had higher concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to docosahexaenoic acid (DPA).

"Researchers are starting to think that perhaps EPA is the important one," she explained.

The Adelaide-based researcher urged general practitioners, psychologists and psychiatrists to take the research on board as evidence about the benefits of fish oil accumulates.

Ms Sinn presented her research in Melbourne at the State Library of Victoria.

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