Table 3. Mean values of AG, DG and leptin measured in weight-, sex- and age-matched control and autism groups.

Hormone	Control group n = 28	Autism group n = 27	p-value
Weight (kg)	19.32 ± 4	20.35 ± 5	0.4
AG (pg/mL)	170.53 ± 39.52	120.34 ± 49.92	0.001*
DG (pg/mL)	299.25 ± 139.73	218.36 ± 74.1	0.01*
Leptin (ng/mL)	0.67 ± 0.51	1.1 ± 0.93	0.05*

Abbreviations: AG, acyl ghrelin; DG, des-acyl ghrelin.

The data are presented as the mean values ± standard deviations.

*p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.