TABLE 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the ASD and control (TD) groups.
| Characteristics | ASD-Low DT (n = 12) (ME, SD) | ASD-High DT (n = 13) (ME, SD) | Control (n = 13) (ME, SD) | Statistics |
| Age in years | 19.8 (1.7) | 19.9 (2.0) | 20.6 (1.7) | F(2,35) = 0.889, p = 0.42 |
| Gender (M:F) | 9:3 | 10:3 | 10:3 | χ2 (2) = 0.017, p = 0.99 |
| Type of ASD | 1 AD, 7 AS, 4 PDD-NOS | 3AD, 1 AS, 9 PDD-NOS | ||
| Full scale IQ | 77.8 (10.8) | 65.2 (12.7) | 115.9 (7.6) | F(2,35) = 79.83, p < 0.001 Control vs. ASD-Low DT: p < 0.001 Control vs. ASD-High DT: p < 0.001 ASD-Low DT vs. ASD-High DT: p = 0.018 |
| AQ-J | 17.5 (9.6) | |||
| CARS-TV | 32.7 (2.0) | 31.8 (2.7) | t (23) = 0.945, p = 0.36 | |
| DT | See section “Behavior Results” | |||
| Rose | 49.2 (7.0) | 108.5 (6.7) | 39.2 (6.7) | |
| Mint | 27.5 (16.0) | 82.3 (49.9) | 28.5 (17.7) | |
| Mean | 38.3 (9.4) | 95.4 (20.4) | 33.9 (15.8) | |
| Two-way ANOVA: Main effect of odor: F(1,35) = 6.51, p = 0.02 Rose > Mint Main effect of group: F(2,35) = 59.24, p < 0.001 ASD-High DT > Control (p < 0.001) ASD High-DT > ASD Low-DT (p < 0.001) No interaction: F(2,35) = 0.37, p = 0.70 |
ASD, autism spectrum disorders; TD, typical development; DT, odor detection threshold; ME, mean; SD, standard deviation; Parentheses indicate SD. M, male; F, female; AD, autistic disorder; AS, Asperger’s syndrome; PDD-NOS, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified; IQ, intelligence quotient. We did not obtain IQ from one participant with ASD due to his low motivation; AQ-J, autism spectrum quotient, Japanese version. Higher scores indicate a greater number of ASD-specific behaviors; CARS-TV, Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Tokyo Version. Higher scores indicate high autistic symptoms.