Association between gastrointestinal problems and symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore the association between gastrointestinal problems and autism spectrum disorders(ASD) related symptoms, in order to give some clues to the management of ASD children.@*Methods@#Three hundred and thirty-six ASD children aged from 3-8 years old were recruited for the study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria.General information about the children, including birth date, gender, food allergy history, gastrointestinal problems in the recent 3 months and social psychological scales, were completed by parents or caretakers.The association between gastrointestinal problems and ASD related symptoms (repetitive and stereotypic behaviors, sensory processing problems, emotional and behavioral problems) were analyzed.@*Results@#Among 336 ASD individuals, gastrointestinal problems were detected in 85 children.General gastrointestinal problem detection rate was 25.3%.ASD children with gastrointestinal problems were more severe in sensory over responsitivity(t=3.172, P<0.05), as well as emotional problems(t=-3.215, P<0.05). According to the regression analysis, gastrointestinal problem was significantly associated with sensory over responsitivity[β(SE)=-0.041, P<0.05, Exp(β)=-0.959], as well as emotional problems[β(SE)=0.375, P<0.05, Exp(β)=1.456]. Specifically, vomit was significantly associated with sensory over responsitivity(B=-14.446, P<0.05), and constipation was significantly associated with emotional problems(B=1.555, P<0.05).@*Conclusions@#Gastrointestinal problems are often seen in Chinese ASD children.Gas-trointestinal problems are significantly associated with sensory over responsitivity, as well as emotional problems, implying that resolving gastrointestinal problems may be helpful to remit these problems.