Eating issues? It may be reflux disease

Eating disorders in autistic children could be linked to reflux disease, researchers claim.

And scientists recommend performing upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopies with biopsies to aid a diagnosis.

Thinking Autism trustee Joanne Allman says that new findings linking reflux disease to autism add to a “considerable body of research”

Eating behaviour issues

Led by Brazilian paediatrician Dr Christine Audet de Almeida, the researchers found 60 per cent of autistic children had “eating behaviours”.

And of these children, nearly 90 per cent showed warning signs of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD, known as GERD in the US).

GORD is when stomach acid, bile, and food come back up into the food pipe (oesophagus).

It is a common cause of oesophagitis. This is when the stomach acid in the oesophagus causes the lining to become inflamed, sore, or damaged.

It causes symptoms such as heartburn and indigestion.

Warning signs of GORD

The researchers looked at 115 children aged between three and 12 who had an autism diagnosis.

The scientists identified the children with eating behaviour issues or those showing warning signs of GORD.

They then gave the children consultations to identify those with suspected oesophagitis.

Almeida and her team found that three of the children had various types of oesophagitis at different stages of development.

‘Possibility of an organic disease’

They concluded the cases of oesophagitis “highlight the possibility of an organic disease”.

In these cases, performing an upper GI endoscopy with biopsies is “essential for diagnosis”, the researchers said.

An upper GI endoscopy involves medics using a camera to look at the oesophagus, stomach and the first part of the intestine.

Conditions ‘overrepresented in autistic people’

Joanne Allman is a trustee with biomedical charity Thinking Autism.

Allman said the research adds to a “considerable body of research ” showing that conditions such as acid reflux and oesophagitis are overrepresented in autistic people.

She added: “It also highlights the often-overlooked fact that symptoms associated with autism, which may be considered ‘behavioural’ (in this case, picky eating) could, in fact, be caused by an undiagnosed, underlying medical condition.”

Almeida published the research in the Brazilian medical publication, Journal of Paediatrics.

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• Evidence grows for autism link to gut

 

Published: 25 January 2025

 

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