Gosling, Corentin J., Boisseleau, Laure, Solmi, Marco, Sandbank, Micheal, Jurek, Lucie, Nourredine, Mikail, Porcu, Gabriella, Murgia, Elisa, Radua, Joaquim, Fusar-Poli, Paolo, Kovarski, Klara, Caparos, Serge, Cartigny, Ariane, Cortese, Samuele and Delorme, Richard (2025) Complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine for autism: an umbrella review and online platform. Nature Human Behaviour, 9 (12), 2610-2619. (doi:10.1038/s41562-025-02256-9).
Abstract
The use of complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine (CAIM) is highly prevalent among autistic individuals, with up to 90% reporting having used CAIM at least once in their lifetime. However, the evidence base for the effects of CAIM for autism remains uncertain. To fill this gap, the present project has conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses exploring the effects of CAIM in autism across the lifespan, and developed a web platform to disseminate the generated results. Five databases were searched (up to December 31st, 2023) for systematic reviews with meta-analyses exploring the effects of CAIM in autism. Independent pairs of investigators identified eligible papers and extracted relevant data. Included meta-analyses were re-estimated using a consistent statistical approach, and their methodological quality was assessed with AMSTAR-2. The certainty of evidence generated by each meta-analysis was appraised using an algorithmic version of the GRADE framework. This process yielded to identify 53 meta-analytic reports, enabling us to conduct 248 meta-analyses exploring the effects of 19 CAIMs in autism. We found no high-quality evidence to support the efficacy of any CAIM for core or associated symptoms of autism. Although several CAIMs showed promising results, they were supported by very low-quality evidence. The safety of CAIMs has rarely been evaluated, making it a crucial area for future research. To support evidence-based consideration of CAIM interventions for autism, we developed an interactive platform that facilitates access to and interpretation of the present results (https://ebiact-database.com).
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