engleski

Effect of benzoates from soft drinks on hyperactivity among Osijek preschool children

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. The effects of food, preservatives and artificial colors as a factor producing ADHD are a controversial subject. The aim of this study was to explore the possible connection between benzoates from soft drinks and hyperactivity among Osijek preschool children. Methods: A special questionnaire was administered to parents of 674 preschool children from kindergartens in Osijek during April and May 2007. The questionnaire contained questions on the preschool children age, sex, weight, average daily intake of soft drinks, type of soft drink consumed, food allergy and ten-item parents Conner's index for ADHD diagnose. The concentration of benzoates in 50 commercially available soft drinks was determined by the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV detector. Results: Among all preschool children there were only 4.6% (31/674) of them who do not drink soft drinks. The mean concentration of benzoates in all samples was 97.72±26.66 mg/L. The questionnaire revealed that 95.4% (643/674) of study subjects consuming soft drinks were taking a mean of 0.6 L of soft drink per day, containing 58.63 mg benzoates. Among those who do drink soft drinks there were 8.6% (58/643) of them positive for ADHD and none in group who do not. Conclusions: ADHD is more common in the group of children who consume soft drinks and in that way intake larger amount of benzoates. It is not clear do these benzoates produce ADHD or just further facilitate ADHD that already exist. Further investigations are needed.

benzoates ; soft drinks ; hyperactivity ; ADHD ; preschool children ; Osijek ; Croatia

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