Effect of gluten free diet on gastrointestinal and behavioral indices for children with autism spectrum disorders: a randomized clinical trial

Authors:
Ghalichi, F., Ghaemmaghami, J., Malek, A. and Ostadrahimi, A.

Key Findings and Implications

  • Gastrointestinal Symptoms: The Gluten Free Diet(GFD) significantly reduced gastrointestinal issues by 57.56%, with specific improvements in stomachache (36.4% decrease), bloating (38.2% decrease), and constipation (89.5% decrease). The RD group saw a minor, insignificant increase of 6.74%.

  • Autism Symptoms: The GFD led to a significant 5.32% improvement in behavioral symptoms, particularly in stereotyped behaviors (18.97% decrease), with smaller gains in communication (3.45%) and social interaction (9.15%). The RD group showed no significant improvement, with a 1.25% increase in symptom severity.

  • Conclusion: The study suggests that a 6-week gluten-free diet can effectively reduce gastrointestinal symptoms and modestly improve behavioral indices in some children with ASD. However, the authors note limitations such as the small sample size, short duration, and lack of parental blinding, recommending further research to identify which ASD subgroups benefit most.

These findings highlight the potential therapeutic role of a gluten-free diet for children with ASD, particularly those with gastrointestinal comorbidities, while underscoring the need for larger, longer-term studies to confirm and refine these results.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27286693/

doi: 10.1007/s12519-016-0040-z