Efficacy and safety of modified Atkins diet in children with global developmental delay: a multicenter clinical study / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of modified Atkins diet (MAD) in treating global growth retardation (GDD).Methods:A prospective multicenter clinical controlled study was conducted.The children were included from 8 departments of children′s rehabilitation in Henan Province from July 2017 to October 2017.A total of 154 children who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned into the routine treatment group (88 cases) and MAD therapy group (66 cases). A total of 62 children in MAD therapy group and 59 children in routine treatment group completed the study for 15 months.The routine treatment group was provided comprehensive rehabilitation training, and the MAD therapy group was given MAD treatment on the basis of rehabilitation training.Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare the differences among datas at different time points. Results:After 3 months, there were significant differences in the scores of the Chinese Version of Urban Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (CITSEA)/Achenbach Children′s Behavior Scale (CBCL) between the 2 groups (all P<0.05). Significant improvement was seen in the MAD group.After 6 months, the MAD therapy group had significantly higher scores on the Gesell Developmental Scale for language and social behavior than the routine treatment group (all P<0.05). After 9 months, the scores of the children in the MAD therapy group were better than those in the routine treatment group in the Gesell Developmental Scale adaptive energy area and the infant-junior high school student social life scale (S-M scale), and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). After 15 months, the fine motor in the MAD therapy group was better than that in the routine treatment group ( P<0.05). At the early stage of MAD therapy, 28 patients showed mild adverse reactions that were reversed after symptomatic treatment.No severe adverse reactions were observed. Conclusions:MAD therapy can improve the neuro-development, emotional and social behaviors, and adaptive behaviors with no severe adverse effects.