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CompletedNCT04054349Updated Aug 13, 2019

The Effect of the Low Fodmap Diet in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

An interventional study of Low FODMAP diet in Autism Spectrum Disorder, sponsored by Ohio State University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 6 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-08-13.

Sponsored by Ohio State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2019, registered Aug 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
6 Years to 17 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

This study assesses the effect of the low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) diet on gastrointestinal (GI) and behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The objectives of this study are: -To determine whether the low FODMAP diet causes a decrease in gastrointestinal problems related to ASD -To determine whether the low FODMAP diet causes a decrease in behavioral problems -To assess the effect of decreased gastrointestinal problems on reduction of behavioral problems

Read the detailed description

In this study, participants were children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ages 6-17 years. Children with ASD were randomized to the low FODMAP diet or habitual diet for 2 weeks. At baseline and after a two-week intervention period, the parent/caregiver completed the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Gastrointestinal Module. The parent/caregiver also completed a dietary food record, and stool consistency/frequency record (three days before start to intervention and the last three days of the intervention) of their children.

02

Conditions studied

03

In context

Autistic Disorder

1,344 studies on the registry are indexed under Autistic Disorder; 334 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 15 is below the median of 45 across 1,044 interventional studies indexed under Autistic Disorder.

Browse Autistic Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

Ohio State University is the lead sponsor of 640 studies on the registry; 144 are open to participants now.

Of its 60 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 45 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
6 Years to 17 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • 6-17 age range
  • Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
  • Parent/Caregiver report of constipation and /or abdominal pain. • ROME IV criteria was utilized to identify constipation (defined as the presence of two of more of the following symptoms: Two or fewer stools per week, at least 1 episode of fecal incontinence per week, history of retentive posturing or excessive volitional stool retention, history of painful or hard bowel movements, presence of a large fecal mass in the rectum, history of large diameter stools that can obstruct the toilet) • ROME IV criteria was utilized to identify abdominal pain (defined as the fulfilled at least 4 times per month and include all of the following: episodic or continuous abdominal pain that does not occur solely during physiologic events (eg, eating, menses), insufficient criteria for irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, or abdominal migraine, the abdominal pain cannot be fully explained by another medical condition)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Under 6 and over 17 years old
  • Having a specific restrictive diet to treat allergies or a specific chronic disease - Any history of abdominal surgeries
  • Any history of chronic physiological GI disorders such as celiac, inflammatory bowel disease, eosinophilic esophagitis.
  • Any chronic condition that may impact GI function such as thyroid disease, cystic fibrosis, or cardiac abnormalities
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
15 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Low FODMAP Diet Group

    The parent/caregiver was given detailed nutrition education by the investigator concerning the low FODMAP diet and was asked to implement for 2 weeks.

    Other: Low FODMAP diet

  • No intervention
    Control Group (Habitual Diet)

    The parent/caregiver was asked to continue their child's usual dietary intake for 2 weeks.

Interventions

  • OtherLow FODMAP diet

    The low FODMAP diet group reduced the intake of FODMAP(fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Gastrointestinal Module-Parent Report

    Before the study period and at the end of the two weeks, the effect of the low FODMAP diet on the severity of GI disorders was assessed with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Gastrointestinal Module-Parent Report. A 74-item survey with 14 scales items: stomach pain and hurt (6 items), discomfort when eating (5), food and drink limits (6), trouble swallowing (3), heartburn/reflux (4), nausea/vomiting (4), gas and bloating (7), constipation (14), blood in poop (2), diarrhea (7), worry about going poop (5), worry about stomachaches (2), medicines (4), and communication (5). Total Score: Sum of all the items over the number of items answered on all the Scales. Items are reverse-scored and transformed to a 0-100 scale so lower scores reflect worse GI dysfunction (As follows: 0=100, 1=75, 2=50, 3=25, 4=0). Response choices are in Likert-scale format ranging from 0 to 4 (0=Never, 1=Almost Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Often, 4=Almost Always).

    Time frame: 2 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Assessment of stool consistency

    Consistency of the stool were recorded for 3 days before the study period and the last three days of the study using the Bristol stool scale. According to Bristol stool scale human stool is categorized into seven groups. Types 1 and 2 are defined as indications of constipation, Types 6 and 7 are indications of diarrhea, and Types 3, 4, and 5 show normal stool consistency. Daily stool consistency score was recorded. This was averaged and compared to the baseline and two weeks.

    Time frame: 2 weeks

  2. Assessment of stool frequency

    Frequency of the stool were recorded for 3 days before the study period and the last three days of the study. Daily number of stools were recorded. This was averaged and compared to the baseline and two weeks.

    Time frame: 2 weeks

  3. Assessment of behavioral problems

    Behavioral problems were determined before the study period and end of the study (after two weeks) using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C). ABC-C checklist have 5 domains: 1) Irritability (includes agitation, aggression and self-injurious behaviors, 15 items); 2) Social Withdrawal (16 items); 3) Stereotypies (7 items); 4) Hyperactivity (16 items); and 5)Inappropriate Speech (4 items).The ABC-C is a 58-item questionnaire for caregivers/parent/caregivers and each item is scored as 0 (never a problem), 1 (slight problem), 2 (moderately serious problem), 3 (severe problem). it is not computed a total score based on the summation of all 58 items, as the subscales are largely independents. Higher scores indicate a higher severity of behavioral problems.

    Time frame: 2 weeks

  4. Energy and Nutrient Intake

    The parent/caregiver recorded food consumption of children for three days before the study period and the last three days of the study.The data for the three day dietary record were entered into a computerized database. Energy, macronutrients and micronutrients were calculated using The Food Processor SQL - ESHA Research. 2006

    Time frame: 2 weeks

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Study locations

1 site
  • The Ohio State University Nisonger Center
    Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 13, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04054349
Lead sponsor
Ohio State University
Responsible party
Marcia Nahikian-Nelms (Principal Investigator, Ohio State University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 13, 2019
Start date
Jan 3, 2019
Primary completion
Jul 30, 2019
Completion
Jul 30, 2019
Last update
Aug 13, 2019

Study contacts

Marcia Nahikian-Nelms, PhD
principal investigator · Ohio State University

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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