A post claims recent research on neurodivergent children uncovered surprising microbial signatures potentially linked to eating behaviors and satiety hormone changes. That study is real, published in 2025, and worth a careful look, including the caution its own authors attach to it.
The real study
Researchers at Comenius University in Slovakia, led by Soltysova and colleagues, analyzed stool samples from 117 children and adolescents: 30 boys with autism spectrum disorder, 14 children with ADHD, 21 girls with anorexia nervosa, and age- and sex-matched neurotypical controls, published in the journal Neuroscience in 2025.
What they found
Across all three conditions, gut microbiome richness was lower in the autism and ADHD groups, and the Bacteroidetes-to-Firmicutes ratio, a commonly studied marker of gut microbial balance, was higher in all three conditions compared to controls. In practical terms, the three groups looked more similar to each other microbially than any of them looked to the healthy control group. Specific shifts included increased Bacteroidetes especially in autism, decreased Firmicutes especially in ADHD and anorexia, elevated Escherichia and Desulfovibrio, and reduced Faecalibacterium in the ADHD and anorexia groups. On the hormone side, levels of PYY and leptin, both involved in signaling fullness and regulating energy balance, were lower in the anorexia and ADHD groups, and specific bacteria groups were statistically linked to those hormone levels.
What the researchers themselves say
This is the part worth taking seriously: the study's own authors describe their findings as needing to be "interpreted with caution," citing real limitations, COVID-19 related disruptions to data collection, a small sample size, and challenges getting full cooperation from young participants, some of whom were actively managing a restrictive eating disorder. They are also explicit that this study cannot establish which way the relationship runs: whether these microbiome differences contribute to the conditions, result from them (diet, appetite and eating patterns clearly differ across all three groups), or both.
Why it is still worth knowing
A real, peer-reviewed study genuinely found autism, ADHD and anorexia nervosa sharing more microbial similarity with each other than with neurotypical peers, and a real statistical link between specific bacteria and satiety hormones. That is a legitimate, interesting lead for future research into the gut-brain-appetite connection across neurodivergent conditions. It is not proof that gut bacteria cause any of these conditions, and the people who ran the study are the first to say so.
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Source: Soltysova, M., Tomova, A., Paulinyova, M., Lakatosova, S., Trebaticka, J. and Ostatnikova, D., "Gut microbiota in children and adolescents with autism, ADHD and anorexia nervosa, and its link to the levels of satiety hormones," Neuroscience (2025). Educational summary, not a diagnosis or medical advice.