The effect of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation on social and behavioral disorders of children with autism: a randomized clinical trial
What this study found
Omega-3 supplementation significantly improved GARS total score (p=0.001), stereotyped behaviors (p=0.02), and social communication (p=0.02) versus placebo after eight weeks, adjusting for age, gender, birth weight, BMI, dietary fat intake, mother's age and BMI. No significant change in social interaction. Conclusion: omega-3 treatment may improve autism characteristics; longer and larger studies are needed to confirm and understand mechanisms.
- Study & population
- Double-blind, randomized controlled trial; 54 children with autism (ages 5–15 years; both sexes) assigned to omega-3 (n=28) or placebo (n=26); diagnosed by psychiatrist; baseline and 8-week follow-up.
- Intervention
- One 1 g capsule daily containing omega-3 long-chain fatty acids (EPA 180 mg, DHA 120 mg) taken orally for eight weeks.
- Key limitation
- Small sample size; short duration; baseline sex imbalance between groups; findings need replication in larger, longer trials.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Introduction Some studies reported that essential fatty acids deficiencies can be related to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. This study aimed to investigate the effect of omega-3 on social, verbal, and behavioral activities in ASD children. Material and methods A double-blind, randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 54 children with autism, who were assigned to the case (n = 28) and control (n = 26) groups. The cases received one capsule of 1000 mg omega-3 daily and the controls received one capsule of 1000 mg medium chain triglyceride daily as placebo for eight weeks. The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-second edition (GARS-2) was used to assess the severity of autism and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess their dietary intake. All measurements were done at baseline and after the intervention. Results After adjusting for age, gender, birth weight, BMI, dietary intake, mother’s age, and mother’s BMI, the intervention group had significantly improved stereotyped behaviors (p = 0.02), social communication (p = 0.02), and the GARS score (p = 0.001) after the intervention compared to the control group. No significant change was found in the score of social interaction subscale. Conclusions The findings indicate that omega-3 treatment improved autism characteristics including stereotyped behaviors and social communication. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine the underlying mechanisms.