A Cochrane review included 4 studies with a total of 83 children; 2 studies used mantra meditation while the other two used yoga compared with drugs, relaxation training, non-specific exercises and standard treatment control. Only one study provided data appropriate for analysis; there was no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the drug therapy group on the teacher rating ADHD scale (MD -2.72, 95% CI -8.49 to 3.05, 15 patients). Likewise, there was no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the standard therapy group on the teacher rating ADHD scale (MD -0.52, 95% CI -5.88 to 4.84, 17 patients). There was also no statistically significant difference between the meditation therapy group and the standard therapy group in the distraction test (MD -8.34, 95% CI -107.05 to 90.37, 17 patients). Data for the side effects of meditation and quality of life were not reported.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (unclear allocation concealment and lack of blinding), by inconsistency (heterogeneity in interventions and outcomes), and by imprecise results (few patients and wide confidence intervals).