New study shows no link between autism and gut problems

[HDLSeanWiley]

It's very popular to assume that autism and gut problems are connected, but this new study shows otherwise.

 

[Tom]

I never thought they were. Just one of many speculations running around the internet.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

Your post is misleading. I think you meant to say that they found gut problems are not causing autism. They do say "We've also known for some time children on the autism spectrum are more likely to have gastrointestinal issues such as constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain." I don't think they studied gut issues as a comorbid. One theory is that mitochondrial dysfunction is the route cause of both the autism and the gut problems.

 

[Unclewolverine]

I would bet occasional gut problems would be due to unusual eating habits that we tend to have more than anything. I know some textures and particular tastes I absolutely cannot deal with, fennel for example.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Anxiety and depression are common co-morbidities with autism. Both of which can cause stomach issues such as IBS.

ED

 

[Bolletje]

Your post is misleading. I think you meant to say that they found gut problems are not causing autism. They do say "We've also known for some time children on the autism spectrum are more likely to have gastrointestinal issues such as constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain." I don't think they studied gut issues as a comorbid. One theory is that mitochondrial dysfunction is the route cause of both the autism and the gut problems.

This. The study only says the gut microbiome doesn’t cause autism, so the title of your post is not just misleading, OP, it’s grossly inaccurate.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Also, this.

Ed

 

[SDRSpark]

I would bet occasional gut problems would be due to unusual eating habits that we tend to have more than anything. I know some textures and particular tastes I absolutely cannot deal with, fennel for example.

Anxiety and depression are common co-morbidities with autism. Both of which can cause stomach issues such as IBS.

ED

Both of these things. Also toss in not necessarily being able to appropriately receive/recognize signals from our bodies and you have a recipe for many, many gut issues.

I have a lifelong history of digestive issues, none of which were recognized/addressed as a child.

TMI:

Spoiler

I actually found out - in my 30s - that I've been constipated most of my life. I truly didn't realize it wasn't normal to poo little round lumps and only after eating, and not every day. My mom remarked that I was "the only child she knew that poops at 7 o'clock at night" but never thought to ask my doctor about it. I just didn't have a clue. I'd always been that way so I had no reason to suspect it was wrong.

 

[Statest16]

I'd disagree with study I believe there are GI issues in most cases of autism

 

[Aneka]

And there are studies proving the opposite. Science never really knows with certainty. There are many different factors that could play a role in the development of autism.
A fact is that the microbiome is different in people with autism.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

The language the author uses is misleading. "...This has led some researchers and clinicians to speculate that gut bacteria could cause autism..." If this is the case "some researchers and clinicians" need to do a bit more study.

Given the hundreds of published studies on how the brain is structurally different in autistics,...changes that occur at the earliest stages of brain development in utero,...long before there is gut bacteria,...these facts pretty much eliminate the premise of "gut bacteria causing autism". We have to be careful with the language here. It is also well-known that the gut microbiome does affect neurotransmitter production, immune function, and intestinal inflammatory conditions,...autistic or not. In some autistic individuals, this is certainly the case. Diet and proper probiotics do influence some autistic symptoms. Another way to think about it,...some people have asthma,...but if properly controlled,...symptoms are minimized,...the asthma didn't go away,...they still have asthma. In individuals where diet and probiotics have made a significant reduction in autistic symptomatology,...great,...but they still have autism. The autism didn't go away.

The other part of the language is the term "autistic" or "autism",...as if we can lump all autistics together. We know there are a handful of variants, each type with their own distinct brain morphology and neurotransmitter milieu,...and given the fact that, to date, nobody has found one cause of autism, but rather there are several "associated and contributing factors",...suggesting that not only DNA, but also these other factors are stimulating gene transcription. Given that there are over 100 known autism markers on the human genome, but not everyone has autism, suggests that something needs to "stimulate" these genes to activate in utero.

Most folks are not trained in reading research articles,...so when all the heavy terminology is "translated" into plain language by another author, it can lead to misinterpretations and inaccuracies. Always go to the source of the information, the original research,...and if it isn't given,...pass on that article.

 

[Streetwise]

Think the word popular is relative

 

[Ken]

I am autistic and, yes, I have gut diseases; Celiac and Crohn's. Both are bad news diseases, however even with that, I have far less gut issues than most of my NT family, friends and acquaintances. I have NT family member's that have died with gut diseases and are younger than me.

Yes, I know that doesn't prove anything except statistically, the lives of other people I know who are not autistic are impeded by gut issues more often than me. I also know several autistic people that do not have any gut issues. There are plenty of NT's with celiac, Crohn's, IBS, ulcerative colitis, etc., etc. Plenty enough to keep a lot of gastroenterologist busy. I don't know, but I suspect that the percentage of gastroenterologist patients that are autistic is likely near the same as the percentage of autistic's to the general population.

When I had my last scheduled colonoscopy, I informed the technician and doctor that I was autistic. I told them that my autism causes social anxiety severe enough to elevate my blood pressure and that it is not normally that high. In any event, neither the technician nor doctor seemed to know anything about autism. They expressed surprise that I was "so articulate for being autistic". I think that if a higher percentage of their patients were autistic they would have been more knowledgeable about it.

I think it is a simple matter that lots of people have gut issues all across the population. That makes it very easy to focus on one group and conclude they have it more.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

In any event, neither the technician nor doctor seemed to know anything about autism. They expressed surprise that I was "so articulate for being autistic". I think that if a higher percentage of their patients were autistic they would have been more knowledgeable about it.

True. However, it's actually more than that. The public AND the medical community still are not aware of the so-called ASD-1/Asperger's variants. This is a problem on many levels,....if the stereotypical autistic,...in their minds,...is the significantly debilitated child rocking in the corner with his hands over his ears. They aren't thinking of their neighbor, their doctor, their mother, or even someone like Elon Musk. "You don't look autistic." "so articulate for being autistic..." and so many other well-meaning, but often minimizing comments are said. It's not good.

 

[dragonfire42]

I strongly suspect that there is no one universal cause or one identical combination of factors that cause autism. So perhaps gut issues play a significant role for some people, but not everyone. I don’t discount the possibility that I have some sort of microbial imbalance or whatever that may cause neurological symptoms but no digestive symptoms, but I can say that I definitely have autism (and depression, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, and possibly other things I’m not thinking of that may make one more susceptible) and have never had any kind of regular gut problems in my life, and have no known food allergies or sensitivities (besides sensory stuff regarding food). I rarely even get any kind of stomach bug. So I have no reason to suspect that it might be a significant factor for me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t for others.

 

[Magna]

Some years ago I was a member of another autism forum. There was a member there that said they (using they to purposely be vague rather than specific in this case) "cured" their autism by ingesting a certain combination of micro-biotics. That person firmly believed autism wasn't a neurodevelopmental disorder at all and was simply a byproduct of not having a healthy gut biome. This person upset the majority on that forum at that time, myself included, because rather than simply making a claim that they "cured" their autism (entitled to opinion), they went further to insult autistic people in general with a sentiment of: "The micro-biotics/probiotics I take cured me. If you don't try the same thing and choose to "remain" autistic, then you're stupid."

 

[Suzette]

@Magna, that is really sad. That person sounds more like a troll than anyone truly autistic.

Just for the record, I have no gut issues what so ever. I am regular, I don't get hear burn or feel queesy. "Iron constitution" you might say.

 

[HDLSeanWiley]

"The other part of the language is the term "autistic" or "autism",...as if we can lump all autistics together." There are no different "types" of autism. You're either autistic or you're not. The differences lie in the amount of support needs that an autistic person requires. For example, someone like me who would be considered "high functioning" would be low support needs, and someone considered "low functioning" would be high support needs. That doesn't mean there are different "variants" of autism, it just means that there are different levels of support autistic people require.

 

[Matthias]

True. However, it's actually more than that. The public AND the medical community still are not aware of the so-called ASD-1/Asperger's variants. This is a problem on many levels,....if the stereotypical autistic,...in their minds,...is the significantly debilitated child rocking in the corner with his hands over his ears. They aren't thinking of their neighbor, their doctor, their mother, or even someone like Elon Musk. "You don't look autistic." "so articulate for being autistic..." and so many other well-meaning, but often minimizing comments are said. It's not good.

As someone with moderate severity ASD who is aware of ASD-1, I've still been surprised when people who appear completely normal compared to me tell me they're autistic. I've even told them they don't look autistic, not to minimize or demean them, but just because I was surprised and couldn't observe anything autistic about them (they spoke normally, had friends, a job, and weren't stimming, etc.).

 

[Neonatal RRT]

"The other part of the language is the term "autistic" or "autism",...as if we can lump all autistics together." There are no different "types" of autism. You're either autistic or you're not. The differences lie in the amount of support needs that an autistic person requires. For example, someone like me who would be considered "high functioning" would be low support needs, and someone considered "low functioning" would be high support needs. That doesn't mean there are different "variants" of autism, it just means that there are different levels of support autistic people require.

Well, not exactly true from an imaging perspective (fMRI, CT, microscopy, etc). There are a number of scientific lectures on YouTube as well as research articles to suggest otherwise. There are brain morphologies that are associated with increased white matter overall, some with frontal lobe hypertrophy, and others with neuronal migrational differences, with associated hyper and hypo connectivity and conductivity, some neurons with excessive synaptic connections, others with too few synaptic connections, some with neuronal tangles, etc...with further associated neurotransmitter imbalances. There is research on different genetic ASD variants even within the narrow context of dopamine turnover. Not all ASD-1s, ASD-2s, and ASD-3's present the same within each subgroup,...each one will have their unique "deficits" but will fall within a similar level of needed support. The differences we see within each subgroup both in brain morphology and level of needed support may be due to genetic variants, but also gene transcriptional stimulation of the 100+ ASD-associated genes and the various known stimulating factors (maternal hormonal milieu, placental blood flow issues, viral injury, those born extremely premature, etc.). This complex interplay is one of the reasons for the broad neurodiversity, sensory issues, neuromotor functioning, and communicational functioning within the autistic population. Hence, the saying, "If you met one person with autism,...you've met one person with autism." We are unique individuals.