SynthesisEuropean journal of nutrition2018
Gluten- and casein-free diet and autism spectrum disorders in children: a systematic review.
Synthesis in European journal of nutrition, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 5 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in high-income vs. lower middle-income countries: An overview of systematic reviews and research papers from LMIC.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Diet Therapies in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of gluten- and casein-free diets on autism spectrum disorders in children.Saudi medical journal · 2020Pooled it
- Mood Disorders and Gluten: It's Not All in Your Mind! A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2018Pooled it
- Influence of a Combined Gluten-Free and Casein-Free Diet on Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 12-Month Follow-Up Clinical Trial.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2020Trial
- Gluten-Free Diet in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized, Controlled, Single-Blinded Trial.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2020Trial
- Intermittent Fasting andNutrients · 2026Article
- The Effect of Gluten-Free Diet on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Disease Severity of Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Iranian journal of child neurology · 2026Article
- Condition the water before adding the fish: a hypothesis on probiotic selection without prior gut assessment.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Effect of multispecies probiotics on autism symptoms: protocol for a randomized controlled trial (PROBAUT).Trials · 2025Article
- Autism Spectrum Disorder: From Experimental Models to Probiotic Application with a Special Focus onNutrients · 2025Review
- Exploring the potential association between dietary factors and autism spectrum disorder: a Mendelian randomization analysis and retrospective study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Pain, dietary habits and physical activity of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Nutritional management and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2024Article
- Impact of Gluten-Free and Casein-Free Diet on Behavioural Outcomes and Quality of Life of Autistic Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Employee Dietary Initiative Improved Chronic Symptoms.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Innovations, quality & outcomes · 2024Article
- Additive or Interactive Associations of Food Allergies with Glutathione S-Transferase Genes in Relation to ASD and ASD Severity in Jamaican Children.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2024Article
- Article
- Role of gastrointestinal health in managing children with autism spectrum disorder.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeEffective treatments for core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are lacking. We systematically updated evidence on the effectiveness of a gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF) diet as a treatment for ASD in children.
methodsThe Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases were searched up until August 2016, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs); additional references were obtained from reviewed articles.
resultsSix RCTs (214 participants) were included. With few exceptions, there were no statistically significant differences in autism spectrum disorder core symptoms between groups, as measured by standardized scales. One trial found that compared with the control group, in the GFCF diet group there were significant improvements in the scores for the 'communication' subdomain of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and for the 'social interaction' subdomain of the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale. Another trial found significant differences between groups in the post-intervention scores for the 'autistic traits', 'communication', and 'social contact' subdomains of a standardized Danish scheme. The remaining differences, if present, referred to parent-based assessment tools or other developmental/ASD-related features. No adverse events associated with a GFCF diet were reported.
conclusionsOverall, there is little evidence that a GFCF diet is beneficial for the symptoms of ASD in children.
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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.