Abstract :
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood. It is mainly characterized by inattention and impulsivity or hyperactivity. The current medication used to manage ADHD is pharmacological stimulant, methylphenidate. The consumption of omega-3 was found to be beneficial in children development and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the usage of omega-3 in ADHD is rather inconclusive. Investigating the benefit of omega-3 as an add-on therapy to reduce ADHD inattention symptoms in children and adolescents. Systematic literature search was done on PubMed, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and EMBASE database for relevant randomized control trials (RCT) and systematic review of RCT, resulting in 323 records identified. From there, a total of 265 articles were screened, which leads to 2 selected articles. Critical appraisal on eligible studies were conducted using Oxford CEBM critical appraisal tools, consisting of 3 components: validity, importance, and applicability. Both studies included were of high quality. One systematic review and one RCT were appraised in this report. The systematic review shows that omega-3 as adjunctive therapy is slightly superior compared to conventional therapy in reducing ADHD inattentive symptoms, but the result was not statistically significant. In contrast, the RCT found that reduction of ADHD scores is higher in the conventional therapy group, but the result was also statistically insignificant. There was no conclusive evidence that omega-3 as an add-on therapy is able to reduce the inattentive symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD.
