Table 1.

 Characteristics of children with autism and matched controls. Values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise

	Cases (n=96)	Controls (n=449)
Boys	84 (88)	394 (88)
Girls	12 (13)	55 (12)
Mean age (months):
Boys	51.0	49.8
Girls	49.4	49.4
Gastrointestinal disorder:
Coeliac disease	0	1 (0.3)
Chronic gastroenteritis	2 (2)	0
Regional enteritis	0	0
Malabsorption	0	1 (0.3)
Ulcerative colitis	0	0
Food intolerance	3 (3)	11 (2)
Symptoms three times in 6 months	4 (4)	28 (6)
Referred to hospital for disorders	6 (6)	18 (4)