The effect of Gluten-free diet on gastrointestinal symptoms and disease severity of Autistic children

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder or ASD is one of the neurodevelopmental disorders that can be seen in the form of problems in social interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication along with movement restrictions and repetitive movement patterns. In addition to the existing clinical treatments for the disease, the families of children with autism routinely look for other auxiliary treatments, including nutritional treatments and especially the restriction of certain diets. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of gluten-free diet on digestive and neurological symptoms of patients with autism. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 120 autistic patients referred to Sheikh Al-Raees Clinic and Tabriz Children's Hospital were included in the study. Autism was diagnosed by neurologists and psychologists, and the M-CHAT rf questionnaire was completed for the patients. Gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea, constipation, vomiting and abdominal pain were defined based on the history taken from the patients and Rome 3 criteria. Along with the continuation of the treatments related to autism, a gluten-free diet was prescribed and nutrition education was given to the parents. The other group of children who only received special medications for autistic patients and had a normal diet, were followed up as the control group. Results: The average age of the patients was 9.27 ± 3.25 years with a median of 9 years. The minimum age of the patients was 6 years and the maximum was 16 years. 52 patients (47.3%) were boys and 58 patients (52.7%) were girls. The severity of ASD based on the M-CHAT-r scale quantitatively significantly decreased at the end of the 12th month in the patients of the intervention group, but there was a statistically significant difference in the control group in terms of the severity of ASD between the baseline and the 12th month of the study. It didn't happen. Also, significant improvement in the areas of speech, cognition and behavior has been observed after using a gluten-free diet in the patients of the intervention group. Evaluation of digestive symptoms including nausea and vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain and discomfort, and diarrhea showed that the frequency of the above cases has significantly decreased in the intervention group; So that 55.6% decrease in nausea and vomiting, 55.6% decrease in constipation, 80% decrease in abdominal pain and discomfort and 58.3% decrease in diarrhea were observed in this group; but the gastrointestinal symptoms in the control group did not have a statistically significant difference compared to the 12th month.