Physical activity for children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder among children and adolescents. The disorder negatively influences their academic performance and social relations, and their quality of life (QoL) is lower than that of peers without ADHD. The majority of children and adolescents with ADHD are treated with medication that potentially has an insufficient effect or frequently occurring adverse events. Physical activity is thought to alter the physiology of ADHD by affecting the same catecholaminergic system in the brain which is targeted by medication.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol is written in accordance with the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols' guideline. Randomised clinical trials with participating children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 18 years with a primary diagnosis of ADHD or hyperkinetic disorder will be included in the systematic review. The main objective of the review is to examine the effect of physical activity on QoL, executive functions, symptoms and functional impairment in this population. Previous systematic reviews on the effect of physical activity in children and adolescents with ADHD have several methodological and conceptual limitations. These reviews, for example, included both randomised and non-randomised clinical trials or had restrictions regarding the frequency and intensity of the physical activity interventions they included. The present review will include the newest studies in the field and follow the main principles outlined in the 'Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions'. Furthermore, it will be the first review in the field to include QoL as an outcome and to apply trial sequential analysis as part of the meta-analysis.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: As the systematic review is a secondary analysis of data from primary trials, approval from an ethics committee is not required. The results of the review will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and presented at relevant conferences.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on 16 August 2024 (CRD42024576670).