Physical activity as an intervention for improving the quality of life of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

ADHD is the most common psychiatric disorder among children in DK and the QoL of these children are low. Most of them is treated with medication which has an insufficient effect and frequent side-effects. Physical activity affects the same dopaminergic systems that medication for ADHD target, with very few side-effects. No studies have examined the effect of physical activity on the QoL of children with ADHD. The Ph.D.-project will consist of three studies:
1. A systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of comprehensively assessing the evidence on the effectiveness of different types of physical activity for children with ADHD.
2. A qualitative study based on focus group interviews with the aim of developing an intervention of physical activity for children with ADHD in cooperation with the children and their parents.
3. A feasibility study with the aim of examining whether it is feasible to conduct an RCT studying the effects of this intervention on the QoL of children with ADHD.