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Hyperbaric Therapy and Autism Ranking: Strong negative evidence

Status Research

There are a number of limitations to all of the research studies published to date. For example

Rossignol et al (2012) concluded

“Many of the reviewed studies suffered from limitations, including the lack of control children, an open-label design, a small number of participants, a retrospective design and the use of parent-rated scales. Indeed, there were only two controlled studies that did not suffer from these types of limitations. These limitations may have contributed to inconsistent findings across studies. In addition, some studies used measurements or observational techniques which may not have been sufficient to measure changes in certain areas, such as attention and memory [123]. The reviewed studies also utilized many different standardized and non-standardized instruments, making it difficult to directly compare the results of studies or to know if there are specific areas of behavior in which HBOT is most effective. None of the studies reported measurements of the long-term effects of HBOT beyond the study period, so it is not known if any of the reported improvements were long lasting.”

Halepeto et al (2014) concluded

“Very few controlled and case studies have been reported on HBOT for autistic children. These studies had multiple internal and external validity problems and provided controversial and insufficient evidence to establish a clear relationship between physiologic changes after HBOT sessions, measures of clinical improvement and the risks and benefits of HBOT for children with ASD.”

“It is noted that inadequate attention was paid to measuring and reporting adverse events. While the available evidence did not indicate serious, life threatening adverse effects. Because the existing evidence is insufficient for clinicians and patients to draw conclusions, good quality observational studies, designed to minimize bias present in existing research, should be conducted.“

Despite this, both Rossignol et al and Halepeto et al go on to state that they believe that hyperbaric treatment appears to be safe and a promising treatment for children with autism.

For a comprehensive list of potential flaws in research studies, please see ‘Why some autism research studies are flawed’

Updated
17 Jun 2022
Last Review
01 Sep 2016
Next Review
01 Dec 2022