The effects of exercise types on inhibitory control and working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to systematically evaluate the effects of exercise types on inhibitory control and working memory in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder through meta-analysis. METHODS: This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA guidelines). Four databases, including Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane were searched. The search date range was from the creation of the database to April 15, 2025. The following three groups of subject terms were used for combined search: (1) intervention, experiment, and exercise; (2) executive function, inhibitory control, and inhibition; (3) population: children, primary school students, and adolescents. The three groups of subject terms were selected as follows: "primary school student", "juvenile", "school-age child", "schoolchild", "young child", "ADHD", "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" (ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and the Boolean logic operator "AND" was used to connect the three groups of subject terms. Inclusion criteria: (1) The subjects were children with ADHD (6-16 years old) (2) Long-term exercise intervention in a real-world setting, with an intervention period of ≥ 4 weeks; (3) The study design was a randomized controlled trial (RCT); (4) The outcome variables included inhibitory control, inhibition, etc. Exclusion criteria: (1) Cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, and other descriptive studies; (2) Reviews, abstracts, letters, and comments that lacked a clear description of the study design; (3) Articles with incomplete data and inability to obtain the required data through other channels. RESULTS: The effects of sport-based exercise modalities; physical and mental exercises, cognitive + exercise, and ball games on the inhibitory control and working memory of ADHD children are better than those of the control group. The effects of ball games are better than those of single aerobic exercise and combined exercises. Ball games may be the most effective intervention measure for the inhibitory control and working memory.