BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Oct 24;25(1):399. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-05119-y.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: East Asian Traditional Medicine (EATM) offers various modalities-such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, and manual therapy-for managing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. This scoping review aimed to identify the overall status and characteristics of EATM treatments for children and adolescents with ADHD.
METHODS: Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework, we searched 13 databases in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. Articles evaluating the effectiveness and safety of EATM treatments for ADHD in children and adolescents aged < 18 years were included. EATM treatments were categorized into herbal medicine, acupuncture, manual therapy, miscellaneous modalities, and combined treatments.
RESULTS: A total of 198 studies were ultimately included in the review. When categorized by treatment method, most studies focused on herbal medicine (n = 104), followed by miscellaneous modalities (n = 41), acupuncture (n = 26), combined treatments (n = 20), and manual therapy (n = 7). Most studies were conducted in China (78.3%) and published in Chinese (74.7%). Among these, 169 were randomised controlled trials, 19 were controlled clinical trials, and 10 were systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses. Among controlled trials, most studies reported positive effects in the experimental group (n = 101, 53.7%); however, > 50% of the studies did not report adverse events (n = 107, 56.9%).
CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review provides an unprecedented overview of diverse EATM treatments for paediatric patients with ADHD, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, manual therapy, and miscellaneous modalities. Further studies should focus on methodological improvements, such as the use of standardised diagnostic criteria and systematic reporting of adverse reactions. This study provides foundational data for future research and clinical practice, including the development of research protocols and treatment guidelines.
PMID:41137076 | DOI:10.1186/s12906-025-05119-y
