Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36229781›Full record

Trial reportBMC pediatrics2022

Vitamin/mineral/micronutrient supplement for autism spectrum disorders: a research survey.

James B Adams, Jasmine Kirby, Tapan Audhya, Paul Whiteley, Jaclyn Bain

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Autism - A Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

James B AdamsArizona State University, Tempe, USA. jim.adams@asu.edu.
Jasmine KirbyArizona State University, Tempe, USA.
Tapan AudhyaNew York University, New York City, USA.
Paul WhiteleyESPA Research, Sunderland, UK.
Jaclyn BainSouthwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Tempe, USA.
Arizona State University · USNew York University · USSouthwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVitamin and mineral supplements are widely used by children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several studies have reported benefits of such supplements in resolving nutritional deficiencies, treating various metabolic problems and improving symptoms and overall quality of life.

methodsThis research survey collected evaluations from 161 people about the effectiveness of ANRC-Essentials Plus (ANRC-EP), a vitamin/mineral/micronutrient supplement designed for children and adults with autism. Although this was an open-label survey, results were compared with a three-month randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of an earlier version of the supplement. Evaluations included the Parent Global Impressions of Autism (PGIA) and the Overall Benefit/Adverse Effect scale of the National Survey on Treatment Effectiveness for Autism (NSTEA).

resultsThe participants reported substantially higher Average PGIA Scores than the placebo group in a similar previous study, with an estimated effect size of 0.66. Based on the NSTEA questionnaire, 73% of participants rated the Overall Benefit as Moderate, Good, or Great, with scores that were substantially higher than the NSTEA study found for multi-vitamins, the average of 58 nutraceuticals, and the average of 28 psychiatric and seizure medications. The Overall Adverse Effect score was low (0.25/3.0), similar or slightly higher than other nutraceuticals, and much lower than the average of 28 psychiatric and seizure medications (0.9/3.0). Sub-analysis found that the Overall Benefit of ANRC-EP was not significantly affected by gender, age, autism severity, diet quality, self-limited diet, use of psychiatric or seizure medications, dosage, developmental history, intellectual disability, or seizures. This indicates that ANRC-EP may be beneficial for a wide range of children and adults with ASD. A limitation of this study is the retrospective nature of the survey, and that participants who had good benefits were more likely to respond.

conclusionsThis study found that ANRC-EP had significant benefits for a wide range of symptoms, and low adverse effects.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderMicronutrientsAdultChildDietary SupplementsHumansMineralsQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesSeizuresVitaminsMicronutrientsMineralsVitaminsAutismAutism spectrum disorder (ASD)MicronutrientsMineralsVitamins

Identifiers

PMID36229781
PMCPMC9558401
OpenAlexW4304893157

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.