Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids And/or Vitamin D in Autism Spectrum Disorders: a Systematic Review

Overview

Journal Front Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2023 Sep 1

PMID 37654990

Authors

Yuwei Jiang

Wenjun Dang

Hong Nie

Xiangying Kong

Zhimei Jiang

Jin Guo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This systematic review aims to offer an updated understanding of the relationship between omega-3 supplementation and/or vitamin D and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, Vip, CNKI, Wanfang, China Biomedical Database databases were searched using keywords, and relevant literature was hand-searched. Papers ( = 1,151) were systematically screened and deemed eligible since 2002. Twenty clinical controlled studies were included in the final review. The findings were analyzed for intervention effects focusing on the core symptoms of ASD, included social functioning, behavioral functioning, speech function and biomarkers changes. The review found that the effects of omega-3 supplementation on ASD were too weak to conclude that core symptoms were alleviated. Vitamin D supplementation improved core symptoms, particularly behavioral functioning, however, the results of the literatures included in this study were slightly mixed, we cannot directly conclude that vitamin D supplementation has a beneficial effect on a specific symptom of ASD, but the overall conclusion is that vitamin D supplementation has a positive effect on behavioral functioning in ASD. Omega-3 and vitamin D combination supplementation has a good combined effect on social and behavioral outcomes in patients with ASD.

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