Trial reportBMC pediatrics2011
Effect of a vitamin/mineral supplement on children and adults with autism.
Trial report in BMC pediatrics, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 99 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
New Vitamin/Mineral Supplement for Children and Adults With Autism - National Study
Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Cross-over, Double-blind Study of a Metabolic Support Therapy With Q10 Ubiquinol and a Multivitamin B and E Complex in Two Cohorts of Patients With Idiopathic and Syndromic Autism (Phelan-McDermid Syndrome)
Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study of Increasing Total Antioxidant Capacity with Vitamin E and C in Two Cohorts of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Who cites it
99 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 294 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between gut microbiota and psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2016Pooled it
- Evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of a modified ketogenic diet in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial.BMC pediatrics · 2026Trial
- Multinutrients Decrease Oxidative Stress in Children With ADHD: Mediation/Moderation Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial Data.Journal of attention disorders · 2025Trial
- A Mitochondrial Supplement Improves Function and Mitochondrial Activity in Autism: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Trial.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Trial
- Evaluating mineral biomarkers as mediators and moderators of behavioural improvements in a randomised controlled trial of multinutrients for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.The British journal of nutrition · 2024Trial
- Dietary supplements for aggressive behaviour in people with intellectual disabilities: A randomised controlled crossover trial.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID · 2023Trial
- Vitamin/mineral/micronutrient supplement for autism spectrum disorders: a research survey.BMC pediatrics · 2022Trial
- Lessons learned from two clinical trials on nutritional supplements to reduce aggressive behaviour.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Long-term benefit of Microbiota Transfer Therapy on autism symptoms and gut microbiota.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Comprehensive Nutritional and Dietary Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder-A Randomized, Controlled 12-Month Trial.Nutrients · 2018Trial
- Vitamin-mineral treatment improves aggression and emotional regulation in children with ADHD: a fully blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2018Trial
- Microbiota Transfer Therapy alters gut ecosystem and improves gastrointestinal and autism symptoms: an open-label study.Microbiome · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Parental gut microbiota dysbiosis is associated with cross-generationally shared DNA methylation patterns and autism-like behaviors in offspring.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Clinical outcomes of mitochondrial-enhancing nutraceutical supplementation in psychiatric disorders: A systematic review.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- Elemental and Isotopic Profiles in Blood and Urine of Jordanian Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Preliminary Comparative Study with Neurotypical Children.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Dietary challenges and supplement use in children with autism spectrum disorder in the West Bank-Palestine: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
39 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVitamin/mineral supplements are among the most commonly used treatments for autism, but the research on their use for treating autism has been limited.
methodThis study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled three month vitamin/mineral treatment study. The study involved 141 children and adults with autism, and pre and post symptoms of autism were assessed. None of the participants had taken a vitamin/mineral supplement in the two months prior to the start of the study. For a subset of the participants (53 children ages 5-16) pre and post measurements of nutritional and metabolic status were also conducted.
resultsThe vitamin/mineral supplement was generally well-tolerated, and individually titrated to optimum benefit. Levels of many vitamins, minerals, and biomarkers improved/increased showing good compliance and absorption. Statistically significant improvements in metabolic status were many including: total sulfate (+17%, p = 0.001), S-adenosylmethionine (SAM; +6%, p = 0.003), reduced glutathione (+17%, p = 0.0008), ratio of oxidized glutathione to reduced glutathione (GSSG:GSH; -27%, p = 0.002), nitrotyrosine (-29%, p = 0.004), ATP (+25%, p = 0.000001), NADH (+28%, p = 0.0002), and NADPH (+30%, p = 0.001). Most of these metabolic biomarkers improved to normal or near-normal levels.The supplement group had significantly greater improvements than the placebo group on the Parental Global Impressions-Revised (PGI-R, Average Change, p = 0.008), and on the subscores for Hyperactivity (p = 0.003), Tantrumming (p = 0.009), Overall (p = 0.02), and Receptive Language (p = 0.03). For the other three assessment tools the difference between treatment group and placebo group was not statistically significant.Regression analysis revealed that the degree of improvement on the Average Change of the PGI-R was strongly associated with several biomarkers (adj. R2 = 0.61, p < 0.0005) with the initial levels of biotin and vitamin K being the most significant (p < 0.05); both biotin and vitamin K are made by beneficial intestinal flora.
conclusionsOral vitamin/mineral supplementation is beneficial in improving the nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism, including improvements in methylation, glutathione, oxidative stress, sulfation, ATP, NADH, and NADPH. The supplement group had significantly greater improvements than did the placebo group on the PGI-R Average Change. This suggests that a vitamin/mineral supplement is a reasonable adjunct therapy to consider for most children and adults with autism.
trial registrationCLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT01225198.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.