To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether clinical guidelines being developed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will take account of the possibility that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is caused by (a) dietary and (b) environmental factors. (156510)

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is producing a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, young people and adults. The guideline will provide recommendations for good practice based on the latest available evidence and will be developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders. The published scope of the guideline includes consideration of dietary elimination and supplementation, and makes reference to environmental risk factors. The full scope for this guideline is available on the NICE website at:

guidance.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=351276

NICE expects to publish final guidance in July 2008.