Mothers reported digestive symptoms more often for young children with autism spectrum disorder.

The authors offered potential hypotheses for the association between ASD and GI symptoms, including food selectivity, shared genetic factors, metabolism and serotonergic signaling. Bresnahan suggested that in terms of the epidemiology, the next steps in research should include evaluating dietary and phenotype data. "Although the nature of the association remains unclear, findings from our study suggest that future research should focus on early life, with specific attention paid to the development of the enteric nervous system, innate and adaptive immunity, microbial colonization of the GI tract, and evolving feeding or dietary patterns," the researchers concluded in their paper.http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Autism/50661?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-03-26eun=g721819d0r&userid=721819&email=amydugan2@gmail.com&mu_id=5883165