---
title: "Psych News Alert: Omega-3 Fatty Acid Brings Modest Improvement in ADHD"
description: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may benefit from the addition of omega-3 fatty acid to their pharmacology regi...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/ADHD%20boy_68157889-Jun-24-2025-04-37-40-2381-PM.jpg
---

 9/13/11 12:00 AM

# Omega-3 Fatty Acid Brings Modest Improvement in ADHD

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may benefit from the addition of omega-3 fatty acid to their pharmacology regimen. It may also bring some improvement for children whose parents decline to have them take a pharmacological agent to treat ADHD. These findings come from a meta-analysis of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reported in the August *Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.* Researchers Michael Bloch, M.D., and Ahmad Qawasmi, M.D., of the Yale Child Study Center evaluated 10 trials involving 699 children and found a "small but significant effect [for omega-3 fatty acid] in improving ADHD symptoms," but that beneficial effect fell short of that found for stimulants and other pharmacotherapies used to treat ADHD.

Read much more about the latest ADHD-related research and clinical findings in *Psychiatric News* at [http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/15/24.2.full](http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/15/24.2.full) and [http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/12/19.full](http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/12/19.full). In-depth information about ADHD is also available in the American Psychiatric Publishing volume, *ADHD Comorbidities: Handbook for ADHD Complications in Children and Adults. *Information about this book is posted at [www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62158](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62158).

(Image: Shutterstock)

[ADHD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/adhd), [omega-3](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/omega-3)

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