Introduction

The gluten-free and casein-free diet is a common practice in Autism Spectrum Disorder, but without consensus regarding their clinical or cognitive benefit.

Objective

To review systematically the literature assessing gluten- and/or casein-free diet for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Materials and Methods

Systematic review of the literature analyzing original studies available until December 2016 in the databases: PubMed, SciELO, LILACS, and BDENF. The terms used for the search were autism, autism spectrum, autism and gluten-free, autism and casein-free diet. To better target the data search, the study used the PICO method (population, intervention, comparison, and outcome).

Results

In total, 22 articles were included, of which 13 were randomized clinical trials, four case studies, four cross-sectional studies, and one cohort. Of the total, 15 found a positive intervention association for the results evaluated and seven found no significant association.

Discussion

This work found much variability in sample size, age, intervention time, blinding, control, or more precise dietary analysis.

Conclusions

No scientific evidence supports using a gluten-free and casein-free diet in patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder. There is a need for further, well-delineated studies, especially well-controlled, blinded randomized clinical trials with sample calculations that allow appropriate observation power for greater security in this practice.

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