Efficacy of ear acupuncture on attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder in 7-14 years old children

Abstract

Background and Objective: Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. This study was conducted to determine the effect of ear acupuncture on ADHD symptoms in children aged 7-14. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 30 children with ADHD whom did not receive Ritalin, whom referred to the private psychiatric clinic of children in Tehran. A questinare child syndrome inventory (parental form) and integrated visual and auditory (IVA) test with a pre-test and post-test design was used in this study. The ear acupuncture treatment for 8 weeks with uniform pressure on the ear seed was applied on five points of the ear, including brain, excitement, prefrontal cortex, shen men and tranquilizar. Results: The auditory vigilance subscale from the attention area and the auditory prudence subscale of the auditory response from the inhibition area in the pre-test phase in compared to the post-test were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The 8-week acupuncture on the ear improves the auditory vigilance subscale and the auditory prudence subscale in children with ADHD.

Keywords

• Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder
• Ear-acupuncture
• Child