Effectiveness of nutritional interventions on behavioral symptomatology of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Systematic review of clinical studies with unspecified randomization status.
PubMed 36454020 · doi:10.20960/nh.04155
What was done
A systematic review searched Scopus and PubMed (English and Spanish) to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional interventions on behavioral symptoms in children and adolescents (<19 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Inclusion was restricted to original clinical studies with an intervention duration of at least 4 weeks.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data or effect sizes. Five types of nutritional interventions were evaluated: gluten- and casein-free diets, ketogenic diet, omega-3 supplementation, prebiotics/probiotics, and vitamins/minerals. While most analyzed studies reported positive results, substantial heterogeneity prevented determining the comparative effectiveness among these interventions.
Why it matters
Although nutritional therapies are widely used in pediatric ASD, current evidence remains too heterogeneous to support definitive comparative effectiveness claims for behavioral management.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes (neither number of studies nor total participants), no quantitative metrics or effect estimates, and notes high heterogeneity across the included literature.
Cited by
- contradicts Conditions including autism, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and diabetes are mitochondrial disorders that respond better to ketogenic diets than to any other current therapy.