Gut microbesMay 18, 2023

Children and teens with ADHD and autism have unique gut bacteria patterns in common

Gut-Brain Axis Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Mar 5, 2026

Abstract

compositions in children with ADHD and ASD are highly similar and differ from non-related controls.

Children and adolescents with ADHD and ASD show altered gut microbiota compared to non-affected children.
Both alpha- and beta-diversity metrics of gut microbiota are similar in ADHD and ASD cases.
A subset of ADHD and ASD cases has increased levels of (LBP).
Increased LBP levels are positively correlated with interleukin (IL)-8, 12, and 13 concentrations.
These findings suggest a possible disruption of the intestinal barrier and immune dysregulation in affected children.

Simplified

An association has been suggested between altered , and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), respectively. Thus, we analyzed the gut microbiota composition in children and adolescents with or without these disorders and evaluated the systemic effects of these bacteria. We recruited study participants diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, and comorbid ADHD/ASD, while the control groups consisted both of siblings and non-related children. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V4 region, while the concentration of (LBP), cytokines, and other signaling molecules were measured in plasma. Importantly the gut microbiota compositions of cases with ADHD and ASD were highly similar for both alpha- and beta-diversity while differing from that of non-related controls. Furthermore, a subset of ADHD and ASD cases had an increased LBP concentration compared to non-affected children, which was positively correlated with interleukin (IL)-8, 12, and 13. These observations indicate disruption of the intestinal barrier and immune dysregulation among the subset of children with ADHD or ASD.

Key numbers

1.26

Increased Concentration

Effect size comparing ASD cases to ADHD cases

Samples Available

Total number of study participants across all groups

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Funding

Competing interests

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

PubMed

Children and teens with ADHD and autism have unique gut bacteria patterns in common

Abstract

Key numbers

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Funding

Competing interests

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Abstract

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Funding

Competing interests

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the gut-brain axis brief