Acupuncture for ADHD

Acupuncture for ADHD: research highlights

This post is part of a series on complementary and alternative treatments of ADHD. Previous posts summarized research findings for EEG biofeedback, dietary modification, herbals, trace minerals and other non-pharmacologic approaches.

Promising but inconclusive findings

A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on acupuncture as a treatment for ADHD identified 3 studies that met inclusion criteria for methodological rigor and size (Lee, Choi et al 2011). Two sham controlled studies reported improvement with electroacupuncture over sham electroacupuncture in children receiving concurrent behavioral therapy. A meta-analysis of two other studies using somatic acupuncture or auricular acupuncture combined with drug therapy showed significant differential effects of combined treatment. The authors of the systematic review regarded these findings as inconclusive due to small study size, the short duration of trials (less than one month), the absence of blinding in two studies resulting in a high risk of exaggerated treatment effects, and the absence of an intention-to-treat analysis in all studies. The authors also noted that as all reviewed studies involved ethnic Chinese populations, findings cannot be generalized to other ethnic groups.

Closing remarks

More conclusive findings of acupuncture in the treatment of ADHD will emerge from sham-controlled studies of long duration across different ethnic groups that are large enough to permit rigorous statistical analysis of findings, and include blinded protocols for treatment allocation.