Caffeine Could Be a Valid Option for Treating Some ADHD Symptoms

Summary: Researchers report the prescribed consumption of caffeine can increase attention and retention capacity in adolescence and adults with ADHD.

Source: UOC

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a psychiatric pathology for which diagnosis has increased exponentially over the last 20 years. In fact, current estimates suggest that this disorder affects between 2% and 5% of children in Spain, an average of one or two children per classroom, and up to 4% of the adult population.

Despite these high incidence rates, controversy surrounds the treatment of this pathology and the therapeutic approach to it. This varies widely depending on each patient, the symptoms they present and their intensity.

For this reason, experts are continuing to investigate different components and substances that may be capable of providing new treatment opportunities for patients diagnosed with ADHD.

A team of experts at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), coordinated by Diego Redolar, a member of the UOC Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences who specializes in neuroscience and researches with the Cognitive NeuroLab group of the UOC Faculty of Health Sciences, has studied the possibility of including caffeine in the therapeutic arsenal used to alleviate some of the symptoms of ADHD, given the controversy surrounding the use of some medicines derived from methylphenidate, among others.

The study, a systematic review of animal studies published in open access in the scientific journal Nutrients, concludes that a prescribed consumption of caffeine can increase attention and retention capacity in adolescents and adults suffering from this psychiatric disorder.

“The therapeutic arsenal for alleviating ADHD is limited, and there is a certain degree of controversy around the use of some types of medications and stimulants, especially during childhood and adolescence. That’s why it’s useful to study the efficacy of other substances, such as caffeine,” explained Javier Vázquez, one of the main authors of this paper who is also a researcher in the Cognitive NeuroLab group.

Improved cognitive procedures

According to the authors, this is the first systematic review that has been carried out, including at the cellular level, with results linking caffeine consumption in different animal models of ADHD with an increased attention span, improved concentration, learning benefits, and improvements in some types of memory.

“This substance improves these types of cognitive procedures, and increases capacity and flexibility in both spatial attention and selective attention, as well as in working memory and short-term memory,” emphasized Vazquez, who added that controlled treatment with this substance “doesn’t alter blood pressure, and doesn’t lead to an increase or reduction in body weight.”

Nevertheless, the researchers point out that caffeine can be a therapeutic tool for this type of symptom, but the results for other characteristic symptoms of ADHD, such as hyperactivity and impulsivity, are not clear.

“The results are very positive, but we must be much more careful when prescribing a caffeine-based medical treatment for these symptoms. In diagnoses in which the problem is purely attentional, caffeine may be an appropriate therapy, but if there’s a symptomatological presence of hyperactivity or impulsivity, we must be more cautious,” said the expert.

These benefits therefore clearly indicate that caffeine may be a therapy indicated for the treatment of ADHD. “Our results reinforce the hypothesis that the cognitive effects of caffeine found in animal models can be translated and applied in the treatment of ADHD in people, especially at young ages such as adolescence,” the authors concluded.

Prevalence of diagnosis in ADHD

ADHD is a mental disorder with a diagnosis that has increased exponentially in the last 25 years, especially among children. However, it is hardly prevalent in adulthood. “ADHD isn’t properly diagnosed in adults, although there’s a great deal of diagnosis among children and juveniles,” said Vázquez.

This shows coffee beans
According to the authors, this is the first systematic review that has been carried out, including at the cellular level, with results linking caffeine consumption in different animal models of ADHD with an increased attention span, improved concentration, learning benefits, and improvements in some types of memory. Image is in the public domain

As it is a highly infantile or juvenile pathology, treatments that require an intense level of medication to alleviate the symptoms of ADHD are therefore subject to considerable controversy, both among many families and in some areas of medicine.

“We want to emphasize that we aren’t against medication for ADHD, but we’re open to investigating all possible alternatives for improving this type of disorder, and for being able to use caffeine from a therapeutic point of view with all the appropriate medical supervision, a prescribed treatment and follow-up,” said Vázquez.

“Being published in Nutrients has been a challenge for the team, due to the journal’s high-quality standards. We’re very proud and satisfied, and it encourages us to continue working in this area in order to improve the treatment of ADHD and reduce its impact on the population,” Vazquez concluded.

About this ADHD research news

Author: Press Office
Source: UOC
Contact: Press Office – UOC
Image: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.
Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatment: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies” by Javier C. Vázquez et al. Nutrients


Abstract

Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatment: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity. ADHD impairments arise from irregularities primarily in dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) circuits within the prefrontal cortex.

Due to ADHD medication’s controversial side effects and high rates of diagnosis, alternative/complementary pharmacological therapeutic approaches for ADHD are needed. Although the number of publications that study the potential effects of caffeine consumption on ADHD treatment have been accumulating over the last years, and caffeine has recently been used in ADHD research in the context of animal models, an updated evidence-based systematic review on the effects of caffeine on ADHD-like symptoms in animal studies is lacking.

To provide insight and value at the preclinical level, a systematic review based on PRISMA guidelines was performed for all publications available up to 1 September 2021. Caffeine treatment increases attention and improves learning, memory, and olfactory discrimination without altering blood pressure and body weight.

These results are supported at the neuronal/molecular level. Nonetheless, the role of caffeine in modulating ADHD-like symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity is contradictory, raising discrepancies that require further clarification.

Our results strengthen the hypothesis that the cognitive effects of caffeine found in animal models could be translated to human ADHD, particularly during adolescence.

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  1. Thank you for letting me know. In fact, I’m surprised by this discovery, because everyone is screaming that caffeine is not very useful, and here research shows completely new discoveries. I really love coffee and so this article actually made me happy. Now I can say that it is in my favor. I’m happy with this discovery and it’s possible that thanks to caffeine I can concentrate normally at work, but I haven’t tracked this connection yet.

  2. Hello

    I am a nutritionist and I write from Spain.

    It is known that caffeine increases Dopamine levels and this neurotransmitter is highly relevant in learning processes, such as motivation and the search for pleasure, among others.

    It is possible that this is one of the reasons why it produces benefits in ADHD

  3. For once, I totally agree with Russell Barkley, the hands-down expert concerning medications for ADHD. As a neurofeedback practitioner, I rely on non-drug approaches for those who do not respond well to meds, but caffeine, though it can wake up the brain in some respects, is not a healthy approach to the treatment of ADHD in children. What they ingest matters – avoid artificial dyes and watch for food-mood connections and give them fish oil to support brain structure (myelin/white matter), but please do not start a child’s day with coffee or, more insidious, a caffeine supplement.

  4. We have been using coffee for ADHD students in schools since the 1970s…this is not new.

  5. So what part of this article is supposed to be new or even innovative? As someone who has ADHD, my reaction was:
    “Well, duh…”

  6. The problem with such a study and the article based upon it is that it is a review of animal studies, which are not directly applicable to ADHD as seen in humans. Such research is suggestive only. Moreover, the few studies of caffeine with ADHD in humans has not been especially convincing although some positive benefits may be evident. Yet so are the usual annoying side effects of caffeine. A major problem in this report not made evident is that caffeine targets a different neurotransmitter than the ones that are implicated in ADHD. Consequently the effects of caffeine are indirect in ADHD and no where near as substantial as those produced by the ADHD medications, especially the stimulants. Also, the comment that the variety of ADHD medications is limited is simply not true. There are at least three classes of medicines and 6 types of neurochemicals with a myriad of delivery systems available to treat ADHD with FDA approval. Hence this article is misleading with regard to the therapeutic benefits of caffeine in ADHD as seen in humans relative to the available prescription medicines.

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