Challenging the research linking gut bugs to autism

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-11-14 03:00

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The theory that gut bugs could be linked to autism is not supported by current evidence, international researchers argue in a perspective piece. The researchers say a combination of human observational studies, clinical trials and mouse studies have suggested a link between autism and the gut microbiome, however they argue these studies are often of low quality. They raise concerns around the sample sizes of human studies done to date, and the challenges in translating what are considered autistic traits in mice to human autism.