A Double-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial of Prebiotic Supplementation in Children with Autism: Effects on Parental Quality of Life, Child Behaviour, Gastrointestinal Symptoms, and the Microbiome.
Jacqueline K Palmer, Jolieke C van der Pols, Karen A Sullivan and 2 others
PMID 38291245WHAT IT FOUND
Six-week GOS plus dietetic advice did not improve parental quality of life, child social or mealtime behaviour, or overall GI symptoms in autistic children more than placebo plus dietetic advice.
It increased Bifidobacterium, but did not give clear clinical benefit.
Key findings
01Parental quality of life did not differ between GOS capsules plus dietetic advice and placebo capsules plus dietetic advice at follow-up, although both groups improved from baseline.
02Child social and mealtime behaviour improved in both groups, with no difference between GOS capsules plus dietetic advice and placebo capsules plus dietetic advice at follow-up.
03With dietetic advice given to both groups, GOS capsules increased Bifidobacterium abundance compared with placebo capsules (+5.9% vs -0.4%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a pilot trial with 41 children randomised and 35 completing, so it was too small to be sure about modest effects. All families received dietetic advice, so the trial cannot separate the effect of GOS from the effect of that advice. The groups were not balanced at baseline: the placebo group had more ADHD, and the GOS group had more children with more severe autism. No statistical adjustment was made for multiple outcomes, so secondary positive-looking results may be chance. Diagnosis was based on existing letters or funding, not a new assessment, and the sample was broad and heterogeneous. The main parental quality-of-life result was null; the severe GI symptom and microbiome findings were secondary and do not show that GOS helps clinically.
Declared interests
Funded by Queensland University of Technology. The supplied text does not report commercial conflicts of interest or author disclosures.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the Bifidobacterium increase or the 9% versus 33% severe GI difference as proof that GOS helps children or parents. The main parental quality-of-life comparison was null, and the GI difference did not reach statistical significance.