Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Aug 31;11(9):878.
doi: 10.3390/jpm11090878.

Ratings of the Effectiveness of Nutraceuticals for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Results of a National Survey

James B Adams  1 , Anisha Bhargava  2 , Devon M Coleman  1 , Richard E Frye  3 , Daniel A Rossignol  4
Affiliations

Ratings of the Effectiveness of Nutraceuticals for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Results of a National Survey

James B Adams et al. J Pers Med. .

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often involves a wide range of co-occurring medical conditions ("comorbidities") and biochemical abnormalities such as oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Nutritional supplements ("Nutraceuticals") are often used to treat both core ASD symptoms and comorbidities, but some have not yet been formally evaluated in ASD. The potential biological mechanisms of nutraceuticals include correction of micronutrient deficiencies due to a poor diet and support for metabolic processes such as redox regulation, mitochondrial dysfunction and melatonin production. This paper reports on the results of the National Survey on Treatment Effectiveness for Autism, focusing on nutraceuticals. The Survey involved 1286 participants from across the United States. Participants rated the overall perceived benefits and adverse effects of each nutraceutical, and also indicated the specific symptoms changed and adverse effects. From these ratings the top-rated nutraceuticals for each of 24 symptoms are listed. Compared to psychiatric and seizure medications rated through the same Survey, on average nutraceuticals had significantly higher ratings of Overall Benefit (1.59 vs. 1.39, p = 0.01) and significantly lower ratings of Overall Adverse Effects (0.1 vs. 0.9, p < 0.001). Folinic acid and vitamin B12 were two of the top-rated treatments. This study suggests that nutraceuticals may have clinical benefits and favorable adverse effect profiles.

Keywords: B12; autism; autism spectrum disorder; folinic acid; minerals; nutraceuticals; survey; vitamins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

J.B.A. serves as President of the Autism Nutrition Research Center, but does not receive any salary or royalties from them. The other authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Effect Score for Amino Acid Treatments from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Effect Score for Fatty Acid Treatments from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Effect Score for Glutathione-Related Treatments from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Event Score for Individual Minerals from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Event Score for Individual Vitamins/Vitamin-like Nutraceuticals from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Event Score for Multivitamins from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Event Score for Sleep Treatments from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Overall Benefit Score and Adverse Effect Score for Other Miscellaneous Nutraceuticals from Highest Overall Benefit to Lowest Overall Benefit.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Relationship between nutraceuticals and change in autism severity from 3 years of age to the current age.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Association between change in ASD severity with the perceived benefit of the nutraceutical (A) Overall methylcobalamin; (B) Injected methylcobalamin; (C) Omega 3 Fatty Acids; (D) Zinc; (E) Epsom Salt Baths.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Maenner M.J., Shaw K.A., Baio J., Washington A., Patrick M., DiRienzo M., Christensen D.L., Wiggins L.D., Pettygrove S., Andrews J.G., et al. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder among Children Aged 8 Years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2016. Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. Surveill. Summ. 2020;69:1–12. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6904a1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dunn K., Rydzewska E., Fleming M., Cooper S.A. Prevalence of mental health conditions, sensory impairments and physical disability in people with co-occurring intellectual disabilities and autism compared with other people: A cross-sectional total population study in Scotland. BMJ Open. 2020;10:e035280. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035280. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Viscidi E.W., Triche E.W., Pescosolido M.F., McLean R.L., Joseph R.M., Spence S.J., Morrow E.M. Clinical characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring epilepsy. PLoS ONE. 2013;8:e67797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067797. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Holingue C., Newill C., Lee L.C., Pasricha P.J., Daniele Fallin M. Gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder: A review of the literature on ascertainment and prevalence. Autism Res. 2018;11:24–36. doi: 10.1002/aur.1854. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lai M.C., Kassee C., Besney R., Bonato S., Hull L., Mandy W., Szatmari P., Ameis S.H. Prevalence of co-occurring mental health diagnoses in the autism population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6:819–829. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30289-5. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources