Table 1.
Summary of comparative outcomes for measurements of neurotrophic factor levels.
| TF | No. of studies | No. with ASD/controls | Main effect | Heterogeneity | Publication bias | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedges g (95% CI) | Z score | P value | Q statistic | df | P value | I2 Statistic | Egger intercept | P value | |||
| BDNF | 27 | 2380/4191 | 0.302 (0.014 to 0.591) | 2.054 | 0.040 | 537.149 | 26 | 0.000 | 95.160 | 2.13562 | 0.11851 |
| NGF | 3 | 100/84 | 0.395 (0.104 to 0.686) | 2.662 | 0.008 | 0.909 | 2 | 0.635 | 0.000 | 1.13092 | 0.71027 |
| NT-3 | 4 | 140/114 | − 0.795 (− 1.723 to 0.134) | − 1.678 | 0.093 | 33.086 | 3 | 0.000 | 90.933 | − 7.11871 | 0.26344 |
| NT-4 | 4 | 485/838 | 0.182 (− 0.285 to 0.650) | 0.764 | 0.445 | 18.275 | 3 | 0.000 | 83.585 | 1.37770 | 0.61376 |
| VEGF | 3 | 844/2460 | 0.097 (0.018 to 0.175) | 2.414 | 0.016 | 0.611 | 2 | 0.737 | 0.000 | − 0.59890 | 0.23760 |
df, degrees of freedom; ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder; BDNF, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; NGF, Nerve Growth Factor; NT-3, Neurotrophin-3; NT-4, Neurotrophin-4; VEGF, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor; NTF, Neurotrophic Factor.