Effectiveness of Physical Activity Intervention on ADHD Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Front Psychiatry
; 12: 706625, 2021.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34764893
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To assess the effectiveness of physical activity (PA) intervention on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related symptoms.Method:
Studies that investigated PA intervention for ADHD-related symptoms were identified through searching PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases from inception through June 2021. Standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effectiveness of PA intervention on improving ADHD-related symptoms. The meta-analyses were conducted using fixed-effect or random-effect models according to the heterogeneity of the studies.Results:
Nine before-after studies (232 participants) and 14 two-group control studies (162 participants/141 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. Combined results for before-after studies indicated significant improvements on all studied ADHD-related symptoms (inattention SMD = 0.604, 95% CI 0.374-0.834, p < 0.001; hyperactivity/impulsivity SMD = 0.676, 95% CI 0.401-0.950, p < 0.001; emotional problems SMD = 0.416, 95% CI 0.283-0.549, p < 0.001; behavioral problems SMD = 0.347, 95% CI 0.202-0.492, p < 0.001). Meta-analyses for two-group control studies further confirmed that PA intervention significantly improved the inattentive symptom (SMD = 0.715, 95% CI 0.105, 1.325, p = 0.022). Subgroup analyses suggested significant beneficial effect on inattention symptoms in children. Moreover, closed motor skills were beneficial for hyperactive/impulsive problems (SMD = 0.671, p < 0.001), while open motor skills were beneficial for attention problems (SMD = 0.455, p = 0.049). When excluding studies with combined medication, the studies in unmedicated participants in before-after studies still showed significant results in all studied ADHD-related symptoms as in the overall analysis. Given the limited sample size, the best frequency and intensity of PA intervention need further investigation.Conclusion:
Our results suggested that PA intervention could possibly improve ADHD-related symptoms, especially inattention symptoms. Closed-skill and open-skill activities could be beneficial for hyperactivity/impulsivity and inattention symptoms, respectively. Further high-quality randomized clinical trials with large sample size are needed.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Systematic_reviews
Language:
En
Journal:
Front Psychiatry
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China