Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39798036›Full record

Trial reportResearch on child and adolescent psychopathology2025

Effect of Probiotics on the Symptomatology of Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Pilot Study.

Meritxell Rojo-Marticella, Victoria Arija, Josefa Canals-Sans

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Research on child and adolescent psychopathology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05167110 (Nutritional Intervention in Children With ASD and/or ADHD), which is not on this map. Cited by 17 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05167110 nacompletednot on this map

Nutritional Intervention in Children With ASD and/or ADHD: Randomized Controlled Trial With Probiotics.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Rovira i VirgiliRan2020 to 2022Enrolled80ConditionsADHD, ASD, Probiotics, MicrobiotaArmsPlacebo, Probiotic
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Gut Microbiome and ADHD: A Narrative Review of Clinical Evidence and Practice Implications.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. ShopAutiPlan: Validating a Serious Game for Assessing Executive Planning in Autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. [The microbiota-gut-brain axis in childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: mechanisms and therapeutic advances].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2025
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Meritxell Rojo-MarticellaNutrition and Mental Health Research Group (NUTRISAM), Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV), Carretera de Valls, S/N, 43007, Tarragona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0003-2622-1648
Victoria ArijaNutrition and Mental Health Research Group (NUTRISAM), Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV), Carretera de Valls, S/N, 43007, Tarragona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1758-0975
Josefa Canals-SansNutrition and Mental Health Research Group (NUTRISAM), Universitat Rovira I Virgili (URV), Carretera de Valls, S/N, 43007, Tarragona, Spain. josefa.canals@urv.cat.ORCID 0000-0002-6209-9558

Funding

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) PSI2015-64837-PSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) RTI2018- 097124-B-I00The Universitat Rovira i Virgili's Martí Franqués Grant 2020PMF-PIPF-36
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of using probiotics with strains related to dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid production on clinical features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This randomized, controlled trial involved 38 children with ADHD and 42 children with ASD, aged 5-16 years, who received probiotics (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Levilactobacillus brevis 109/cfu/daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. Parent-reported symptoms were assessed using Conners' 3rd-Ed and the Social Responsiveness Scale Test, 2nd-Ed (SRS-2), and children completed the Conners Continuous Performance Test, 3rd-Ed (CPT 3) or Conners Kiddie CPT, 2nd-Ed (K-CPT 2). Executive functions, quality of life and sleep patterns were also parent-assessed. Intention-to-treat analyses, controlling for sociodemographic and nutritional covariates, revealed no significant inter-group differences in parent-reported or neuropsychological data after the probiotic intervention. However, age-stratified analyses showed improved hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms in younger children with ASD (Cohen's d = 1.245) and ADHD (Cohen's d = 0.692). Intra-group analyses supported these findings in the aforementioned age and intervention group for both diagnoses. An improvement in impulsivity for children with ASD was also observed in the intra-group analysis of the CPT commissions scores (probiotic: p = 0.001, Cohen's d = -1.216; placebo: p = 0.013, Cohen's d = -0.721). A better comfort score (quality of life) was shown in children with ASD (probiotic: p = 0.010, Cohen's d = 0.722; placebo: p = 0.099, Cohen's d = 0.456). The probiotics used, may improve hyperactivity-impulsivity in children with ASD or/and ADHD and quality of life in children with ASD. Further research is warranted to explore probiotics as an adjunctive therapeutic intervention for NDs.Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT05167110.

Indexed as

Attention Deficit Disorder with HyperactivityAutism Spectrum DisorderProbioticsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansMalePilot ProjectsQuality of LifeTreatment OutcomeAdolescentsAttention deficit/hyperactive disorderAutism spectrum disorderChildrenProbioticsRandomized controlled trials

Identifiers

PMID39798036
PMCPMC11845535

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.