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. 2023 Apr 14;2023(4):CD007986. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007986.pub3

Gow 2012.

Study characteristics
Methods Design: parallel trial
Comparison: omega‐3 PUFA vs placebo
Participants Inclusion criteria: 1. male adolescents; 2. aged 12 to 17 years; 3. with Conners Parent and Teachers Rating scores of 65 or more; 4. meeting DSM‐IV criteria for ADHD (using Children’s Interview of Psychiatric Symptoms (ChIPS))
Exclusion criteria: 1. IQ of 70 or less; 2. diagnosis of autism; 3. learning disorders; 4. serious mental health conditions; 5. taken omega‐3 supplements in the previous 6 months; 6. history of diabetes or other metabolic disorder influencing fatty acid metabolism; 7. not living in a family home or residential school; 8. under special diets; 9. not in school during the intervention; 10. serious or chronic disease; 11. low coagulation function; 12. abnormal blood tests; 13. using medications: alpha tocopherol, selected anticoagulants (aspirin, warfarin, heparin), cyclosporine, clopidogrel, etretinate and topical steroids, cholesterol‐lowering medications (atorvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin), NSAIDs, dalteparin, dipyrdamole, enoxaparin, ticlopedine; 14. known allergy for fish product derivatives, vitamin E derivatives, and gelatine
Number of participants: 29
Mean age: not stated
Gender: 29 boys and 0 girls
ADHD subtypes: not stated
Using ADHD drugs at baseline: 21 were medication naïve
Baseline scores: SDQ hyperactivity/concentration (ADHD) scores: 1.41
Setting: special schools in London and Kent, UK, 2004 to 2008
Funding: sponsored by Vifor Pharma, for approving a grant to King’s College London; also part funding and support from the Mother and Child and Letten Foundations
Interventions Intervention (no. of participants not stated): omega‐3 PUFA for 12 weeks; Equazen eye q (dose of active: x 6 daily; each containing 400 mg of fish oil and 100 mg of evening primrose oil with the following active ingredients: EPA (93 mg), DHA (29 mg), gamma‐linolenic acid (10 mg), and vitamin E (1.8 mg)). The 7 participants on medication had a washout of 48 hours.
Control (no. of participants not stated): placebo for 12 weeks; identical placebo containing medium‐chain triglycerides
Outcomes

  1. ADHD symptoms measured at 12 weeks

    1. ADHD Behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire)

    2. Barrat’s Impulsivity Scale

  2. Behaviour measured at 12 weeks

    1. Conners Teacher and Parent Rating Scales ‐ Oppositional

    2. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ‐ Conduct

    3. Buss‐Perry Aggression Questionnaire

  3. Depression measured at 12 weeks

    1. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale

  4. Anxiety measured at 12 weeks

    1. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale
Notes Outcome data were not reported.
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Low risk Comment: Randomisation into groups was carried out by the Mental Health & Neuroscience Clinical Trials Unit based at the Institute of Psychiatry, KCL.
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Unclear risk Comment: not described
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias)
All outcomes Unclear risk Comment: not stated
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes Unclear risk Comment: not stated
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes Unclear risk Comment: number of participants lost to follow up was unclear
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Unclear risk Comment: no outcome data reported
Other bias High risk Comment: Sponsored in part by sponsored by Vifor Pharma, which produced PUFA supplements.