How common are gastrointestinal disorders in children with autism?

Thea Kuddo, MD; Karin B. Nelson, MD

We could identify no report that describes the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders in a representative group of children with a diagnosis of autism compared with appropriate controls. Thus, we found no evidence upon which to base a confident conclusion as to whether gastrointestinal symptoms are more common in children with than without autism. However, the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms observed in population-based samples of autistic children indicate that gastrointestinal problems are not nearly as common in children with autism as reports from pediatric gastroenterology clinics suggest.

Abbreviations

ASD autism spectrum disorder

GI gastrointestinal

MMR measles-mumps-rubella

VIP vasoactive intestinal peptide

Neuroepidemiology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Correspondence to Karin B. Nelson, MD, NEB/NINDS/NIH, Building 10, Room 5S221, Bethesda, MD 20892-1447, USA; e-mail: knelson@helix.nih.gov

Current Opinion in Pediatrics 2003; 15(3):339-343

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