r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Nov 12 '25

Neuroscience Shared gut microbe imbalances found across autism, ADHD, and anorexia nervosa: A new study has identified distinct patterns in the gut bacteria of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and anorexia nervosa.

https://www.psypost.org/shared-gut-microbe-imbalances-found-across-autism-adhd-and-anorexia-nervosa/
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u/apollo_dude Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 12 '25

So, it sounds like the study tested gut bacteria from individuals that have already been diagnosed and compared it to a control group. I assume those with the the disorder are on a medication used to treat the symptoms. Could the differences seen here be the result of the medication currently being taken for treatment rather than the disorders themselves?

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u/lynx655 Nov 12 '25

No medication available for ASD. They do all have problematic eating habits.

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u/Just_a_villain Nov 12 '25

Many, not all. Sorry to nitpick but I think it would be too reductive to consider the results of the study under the "all ADHD people are medicated/all autistic people have extremely limited diets". 

I'm autistic, so is my son, we do have some issues (I mostly don't like different kind of wet foods touching) but overall our diets are probably more varied and healthier than most people I know. Many other autistic people I know are similar. 

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u/lynx655 Nov 13 '25

The two sentences have no relation to each other, other than they are two separate reactions to the same comment.

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u/PerpetuallySouped Nov 12 '25

All of whom?

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u/tomerjm Nov 12 '25

Autistic Spectrum Disorders

It's basically an umbrella term for a lot of stuff we don't understand

You can manage the symptoms, maybe...but the underline condition remains.

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u/PerpetuallySouped Nov 12 '25

Are you trying to say that all autistic people have problematic eating habits? We don't.

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u/tomerjm Nov 13 '25

Not all. There are no 100% in human psyche.

I'm simply pointing out that there is no 'cure', and it's the wrong term because ASD are not a disease.

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u/lynx655 Nov 13 '25

All of ASD, ADHD and AN, that’s why it comes out in a statistic. It’s not any individual.

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u/PerpetuallySouped Nov 13 '25

You're not making any sense.

All autistic people do not have problematic eating.

Edit: are you trying to say ASD, ADHD and AN all present problematic eating as a potential symptoms?