• Emrah Gokay Ozgur and Sibel Balci.
• Marmara University, School of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 23 (4): 230235230-235.

ObjectiveDue to the high increase in rate of autism, it has gained great importance to determine the etiology of autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of our study was to assess the role of Candida albicans as a risk factor to cause autism behavior.MethodsWe searched Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO for articles up to December, 2021. The studies involving children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder were included. Children' outcomes were selected as Candida albicans (positive) and Candida albicans (negative). Odds ratios were reported using fixed-effect and random-effect meta-analysis. The heterogeneity was assessed by the Chi-square test and Higgins' I2 test. The publication bias was examined via funnel plot and Hegger's test.ResultsOur meta-analysis was conducted based on 254 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disease cases and 161 healthy cases from 4 studies. Compared to the healthy cases, the odds of presence of Candida albicans (OR=7.21; 95% CI: 3.75-13.85; p<0.001) were higher in those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.ConclusionThis study as a whole showed that children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have higher frequency of the presence of the fungus Candida albicans. Therefore, Candida albicans may be an etiological factor for the autistic behavior in children.© 2023 Ozgur EG et al.

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