The effects of a double blind placebo controlled artificial food colourings and benzoate preservatives challenge on hyperactivity in a general population sample of pre-school children.

Belinda Bateman, Emma Hutchinson, John O. Warner, Tara Dean, Piers Rowlandson, Carole Gant, Jane Grundy, Christina Fitzgerald, Jim Stevenson

From the Department of Child Health (BB, JW) and the Department of Psychology (JS), University of Southampton, Southampton, UK; the Department of Clinical Psychology (EH, CF), Department of Paediatrics (PR) and the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre (TD, CG, JG), St. Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight, UK

Poster presented to the International Society for Research into Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, Vancouver, 27-30, June 2001.

Abstract

Background: To determine whether artificial food colourings and a preservative in the diet of three-year-old children in the general population influence hyperactive behaviour.

Methods: 1873 children were screened at their third birthdays for the presence of hyperactivity (HA) and 2346 were screened in addition for atopy (AT). Children were matched in quartets to form the following groups: HA/AT, not-HA/AT, HA/not-AT and not-HA/not-AT (N = 277). Using a within subject double blind cross-over design and after baseline assessment, children were subjected to the withdrawal from their diet of artificial colourings and benzoate preservatives, followed by, in random order, periods of dietary challenge with a drink containing artificial colourings (20 mg daily) and sodium benzoate (45 mg daily) (active period) or a placebo mixture supplementary to their diet. Behaviour was assessed by a tester blind to dietary status and by parents' ratings.

Results: There were significant effects in reducing hyperactive behaviour during the withdrawal phase. There were significantly greater elevations in hyperactive behaviour during the active than the placebo period based on parental reports. These effects were not influenced by initial hyperactive status or by the presence of atopy. There were no significant differences detected based on testing in the clinic.

Conclusions: There is a general adverse effect of artificial food colouring and benzoate preservatives on three-year-old children that is detectable in their behaviour outside the clinic. Sub-groups are not made more vulnerable to this effect by their prior levels of hyperactivity or by atopy.

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