Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation for autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

James, Stephen; Montgomery, Paul; Williams, Katrina

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd007992.pub2

Cited by 91 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…To date, eight systematic reviews of CIM therapies for ASD have been published by the Cochrane Collaboration, and only one therapy (music therapy) was found to have evidence supporting efficacy for ASD. 8 There was insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of vitamin B6 plus magnesium, 9 auditory integration training, 10 gluten or casein-free diets, 11 chelation, 12 secretin, 13 acupuncture, 14 and omega-3 fatty acids 15 in these systematic reviews. Recently, the NCCIH published a featured health topic on autism, highlighting that there is ''very little high quality research on complementary health approaches for ASD.…”

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confidence: 95%

Examining Clinics for Children with Autism: The Autism Translating To Treatment Study

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Widjaja

et al. 2017

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

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Objectives: Certain clinical providers specialize in providing complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because many of these providers and their patients/ families have reported substantial improvement, the authors developed an online platform to carefully examine these clinical practices. The initial goal was to examine the feasibility of prospective data collection in this setting. The larger goals were to characterize the tests and treatments used in these clinics; examine associations between specific treatments, biomarkers, and improved outcomes; and identify promising treatments for future study.Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Four CIM clinics specializing in treating children with ASD. Patients: Children with ASD age 2-8 years.Interventions: The study protocol provided no interventions, but all interventions provided by the CIM clinical providers were recorded.Outcome measures: Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC); Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS); and instruments that assessed sensory sensitivity, language, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, pediatric quality of life, and caregiver strain.Results: Fourteen children were enrolled (mean age, 4.4 years). Over 3 months, the total behavior score (ABC) decreased (improved) from 110.8 to 103.8 (change, -7.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], -27.9 to 13.9), and the total social responsiveness score (SRS) decreased (improved) from 133.8 to 127.2 (change, -6.6; 95% CI, -30.5 to 17.3), but these changes were not statistically significant. Similarly, caregiver strain and pediatric quality of life decreased (improved) but by a nonsignificant amount. More severe GI symptoms and more severe ASD symptoms were associated with lower quality of life ( p < 0.001).Conclusions: Barriers to successful data collection were identified. Despite these challenges, this study could confirm interesting associations between data elements, highlighting the future value of similar systems for improving evidence-based care in this population.

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confidence: 95%

Examining Clinics for Children with Autism: The Autism Translating To Treatment Study

Bent

Dang

Widjaja

et al. 2017

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

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“…For example, while gluten-and 74 casein-free diets are widely used and reported to be efficacious by parents [40], to date only 75 two RCTs have tested their efficacy, yielding mixed results that prevent any recommendation 76 of these exclusion diets as standard treatments [19,8]. Omega-3 fatty acids are increasingly 77 used in ASD despite lack of understanding on which might be the optimal dosage and 78 insufficient evidence of efficacy [18] to endorse all the approaches that they had used with their child in the previous 6 months.…”

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confidence: 99%

Prevalence and correlates of use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with autism spectrum disorder in Europe

et al. 2015

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This study examined the prevalence and correlates of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) < 7 years in 18 European countries (N = 1,680). Forty-seven percent of parents reported having tried any CAM approach in the past 6 months. Diets and supplements were used by 25 % of the sample and mind–body practices by 24 %; other unconventional approaches were used by 25 % of the families, and a minority of parents reported having tried any invasive or potentially harmful approach (2 %). Parents in Eastern Europe reported significantly higher rates of CAM use. In the total sample, children with lower verbal ability and children using prescribed medications were more likely to be receiving diets or supplements. Concurrent use of high levels of conventional psychosocial intervention was significantly associated with use of mind–body practices. Higher parental educational level also increased the likelihood of both use of diets and supplements and use of mind–body practices. Conclusion: The high prevalence of CAM use among a sample of young children with ASD is an indication that parents need to be supported in the choice of treatments early on in the assessment process, particularly in some parts of Europe

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“…Thus, we included 17 systematic reviews. 4,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Results from systematic reviews A summary of each systematic review is presented narratively below. In addition, Table 2 4,10-25 presents the issues addressed, the main findings from each systematic review and the quality of the evidence (based on the GRADE approach).…”

Section: Search Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The review 17 The authors concluded that, up to that time, there was no highquality evidence that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation was effective for children with ASDs. For further details, the original abstract can be consulted, available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.…”

Section: Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do Cochrane systematic reviews say about interventions for autism spectrum disorders?

et al. 2017

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CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder and pervasive developmental disorder. The manifestations of ASDs can have an important impact on learning and social functioning that may persist during adulthood. The aim here was to summarize the evidence from Cochrane systematic reviews on interventions for ASDs. DESIGN AND SETTING: Review of systematic reviews, conducted within the Discipline of Evidence-Based Medicine, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. METHODS:We included and summarized the results from Cochrane systematic reviews on interventions for ASDs. RESULTS: Seventeen reviews were included. These found weak evidence of benefits from acupuncture, gluten and casein-free diets, early intensive behavioral interventions, music therapy, parent-mediated early interventions, social skill groups, Theory of Mind cognitive model, aripiprazole, risperidone, tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI); this last only for adults. No benefits were found for sound therapies, chelating agents, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, omega-3, secretin, vitamin B6/ magnesium and SSRI for children. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture, gluten and casein-free diets, early intensive behavioral interventions, music therapy, parent-mediated early interventions, social skill groups and the Theory of Mind cognitive model seem to have benefits for patients with autism spectrum disorders (very low to low-quality evidence). Aripiprazole, risperidone, tricyclic antidepressants and SSRI (this last only for adults) also showed some benefits, although associated with higher risk of adverse events. Experimental studies to confirm a link between probable therapies and the disease, and then high-quality long-term clinical trials, are needed. RESUMO MÉTODOS:Nós incluímos e resumimos os resultados de revisões sistemáticas Cochrane sobre intervenções para TEA. RESULTADOS: Foram incluídas 17 revisões que encontraram evidências fracas de benefícios da acupuntura, dietas isentas de glúten e caseína, intervenção comportamental intensiva precoce, musicoterapia, intervenção precoce mediada pelos pais, grupos de habilidades sociais, modelo cognitivo de Teoria da Mente, aripiprazol, risperidona, antidepressivos tricíclicos, inibidores seletivos da recaptação da serotonina (ISRS); o último apenas para adultos. Nenhum benefício foi encontrado com terapias sonoras, agentes quelantes, oxigenoterapia hiperbárica, ômega-3, secretina, vitamina B6/magnésio e ISRS para crianças. CONCLUSÃO: Acupuntura, dietas sem glúten e caseína, intervenção comportamental intensiva precoce, musicoterapia, intervenção precoce mediada pelos pais, grupos de habilidades sociais e modelo cognitivo de Teoria da Mente parecem ter benefícios para pacientes com TEA (evidência de qualidade muito baixa a baixa). Aripiprazol, risperidona, antidepressivos tricíclicos e ISRS (o último apenas para adultos) também apresentam algum benefício, embora estejam associados a maior risco de event...

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Omega-3 fatty acids supplementation for autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Cited by 91 publications

References 51 publications

Examining Clinics for Children with Autism: The Autism Translating To Treatment Study

Examining Clinics for Children with Autism: The Autism Translating To Treatment Study

Prevalence and correlates of use of complementary and alternative medicine in children with autism spectrum disorder in Europe

What do Cochrane systematic reviews say about interventions for autism spectrum disorders?

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