Autism kids more likely to suffer constipation. Is this debatable?

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Several studies indicate that gastrointestinal disturbances are more common in autism/ASD. Despite lot of anecdotal data, the issue of constipation in such patients is mired in controversy.

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Autism-constipation study objectives: Drs Pang and Croaker from the Department of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. wished to examine if constipation is more common in such patients As compared to controls. The results of the study were published in the journal Pediatric Surgery International (2011).

Autism-constipation study: Investigators compared constipation/bowel habit records of children with autism ± neuro-developmental psychiatric diagnosis and compared with constipation history in otherwise healthy kids. 118 kids with autism were identified and the characteristics of constipation were then compared to bowel habit data on 90 controls.

Results of Autism-constipation study

Constipation occurred much earlier in autism group. Median age of onset of constipation in autism group was 2.5 months as compared to 14 months in constipated non-autism group.
Duration of constipation was significantly longer in autism group. The autism group had had constipation for a median of 61 months as compared to only 27 months in constipated non-autism group.
Characteristics point to slow transit constipation.

The other view on autism and constipation

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

A study by Ibrahim et al from the Mayo Clinic and published in the journal Pediatrics 2009 found that incidence of constipation in autism is higher than controls (34% versus 18% among controls).

Despite the fact that the incidence of constipation was significantly higher, the authors concluded that there was no significant correlation between autism and incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms. The investigators opined that constipation was related to neuro-behavioral factors and not the involvement of the gut.

Dr. Minocha's comments (LIKE Dr. Anil on FB)

The above two seemingly disparate concepts may not be as mutually exclusive at it seems since the gut is intimately connected wth the nervous system via enteric nervous system, endocrine system as well as immune system.

A neurobehavioral symptom can easily be a manifestation of what goes on in the gastrointestinal system and vice-versa. Bottomline, the incidence of constipation in autism/ASD is greater than controls and whether the pathology is in gut or brain or somewhere in between, the patients/parents/caregivers have to deal with it.

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