The effect of zinc supplementation in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and dose-response meta‑analysis of randomized clinical trials
Sepide Talebi, Maryam Miraghajani, Abed Ghavami, Hamed Mohammadi
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis was conducted to quantify the efficacy of zinc supplementation on clinical symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. METHODS: Electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI web of science, and Google Scholar were searched until January 2021. Results were reported as standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using Hedges's adjusted g method. RESULTS: = 0.17) compared to the control group. Besides, the dose-response analysis did not find any significant non-linear association between zinc supplementation dosage or duration on ADHD total scores. The certainty of the evidence was rated moderate to very low for all outcomes. CONCLUSION: Zinc supplementation may have beneficial effects in improving ADHD symptoms in children with ADHD. Future well-designed, large-scale randomized controlled trials are needed to establish the benefit of zinc supplementation for ADHD.