Therapeutic effects of antidepressants for global improvement and subdomain symptoms of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

No established pharmacological treatment is available for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed at investigating the efficacy of antidepressants for the core and associated symptoms of ASD.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, ClinicalKey, Cochrane CENTRAL, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov using the keywords "ASD" and "antidepressants." We searched from database inception to June 2021 for randomized controlled trials of antidepressant use in patients with ASD. We calculated pooled effect sizes based on a random-effects model.

Results

Analysis of 16 studies with 899 participants showed improvements in restricted and repetitive behaviours (effect size = 0.27) and global symptoms (effect size = 1.0) in patient

SUBMITTER: Liang SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9377548 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature