The effect of probiotic intervention on behavioral and gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Forfatter(e)
- Tang, Y., Wang, T. T., Li, Y. T., Zou, W. L., Chen, X. L., Li, Z. G.
- År
- 2025
- Tidsskrift
- Research in Autism
- Volum
- 126
- Sider
- 10
- Kategori(er)
- Autismespekter Atferdsproblemer, antisosial atferd og atferdsforstyrrelser Somatisk sykdom (inkl. smertetilstander)
- Tiltakstype(r)
- Kosttilskudd og ernæring
- Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition affecting children's physical and psychological well-being. Recent research highlights the gut microbiota's role in autism, with probiotic interventions gaining attention as a potential treatment.
Objective: This meta-analysis evaluates the impact of probiotics on behavioral and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in children with autism, focusing on clinical and crossover randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost for relevant studies published in the past decade. Meta-analysis was performed using R software (version 4.4.1).
Results: A total of 8 studies were included in the Meta-analysis, and we found a significant overall effect size of the probiotic intervention on the severity of behavioral symptoms in children with autism (SMD = -0.251, 95 % CI:-0.466--0.037,P = 0.04). Only three of the studies reported data related to gastrointestinal symptoms, and the analysis showed a non-significant intervention effect of probiotics in this area (SMD = -0.048, 95 % CI: -0.399 to 0.303, P = 0.41). Additional subgroup analyses showed no significant effect of region, duration of intervention, or probiotic type on the intervention effect.
Conclusion: Probiotic intervention reduced autism symptoms but had minimal effect on GI symptoms. Limitations include small sample sizes, short intervention durations, and variability in probiotics and measurement scales. Further high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.