Table 1.
Anthropometric characteristics and dietary intake in children with autism spectrum disorder and typical development.
| Parameters | ASD Groups | ASD-Total Group | TD Group | p ** | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASD-Diet | ASD-No Diet | p * | ||||
| Anthropometric characteristics | (n = 19) | (n = 16) | (n = 35) | (n = 30) | ||
| Age (years) | 6.05 ± 2.27 | 5.57 ± 1.91 | 0.688 1 | 5.83 ± 2.10 | 7.19 ± 2.56 | 0.045 1 |
| Height (cm) | 118.11 ± 13.74 | 117.83 ± 12.83 | 0.882 2 | 117.98 ± 13.14 | 125.43 ± 18.31 | 0.069 2 |
| Weight (Kg) | 23.47 ± 6.25 | 24.73 ± 6.00 | 0.766 1 | 24.05 ± 6.08 | 29.37 ± 11.78 | 0.266 1 |
| BMI (Kg/m2) | 16.60 ± 2.26 | 17.71 ± 2.27 | 0.233 1 | 17.11 ± 2.30 | 17.89 ± 2.70 | 0.469 1 |
| BMI for Age Z-score | 0.50 ± 1.48 | 1.37 ± 1.32 | 0.078 1 | 0.89 ± 1.45 | 0.92 ± 1.04 | 0.921 1 |
| Height for Age Z-score | −0.003 ± 1.17 | 0.58 ± 1.12 | 0.140 2 | 0.26 ± 1.17 | 0.31 ± 1.19 | 0.833 2 |
| Birth Weight (Kg) | 3179.37 ± 690.53 | 3519.69 ± 694.47 | 0.157 2 | 3334.94 ± 703.42 | 3268.63 ± 462.58 | 0.651 2 |
| Dietary intake | (n = 18) | (n = 15) | (n = 33) | (n = 29) | ||
| Dairy products | ||||||
| Milk + Yogurt (g/day) | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 191.89 ± 262.56 | <0.001 1 | 87.22 ± 198.94 | 353.40 ± 237.32 | <0.001 1 |
| Cheese (g/day) | 0.71 ± 2.41 | 15.62 ± 14.17 | <0.001 1 | 7.49 ± 12.15 | 16.60 ± 15.42 | 0.002 1 |
| T. Dairy (g/day) | 0.71 ± 2.41 | 284.98 ± 275.95 | <0.001 1 | 129.92 ± 232.33 | 401.95 ± 243.96 | <0.001 1 |
| Vegetable drinks | ||||||
| Vegetable drinks (ml/day) | 399.33 ± 415.82 | 42.26 ± 104.59 | 0.003 1 | 237.03 ± 359.50 | 26.72 ± 118.38 | 0.001 1 |
| Cereals | ||||||
| Cereals with gluten (g/day) | 5.78 ± 10.32 | 210.32 ± 127.05 | <0.001 1 | 98.75 ± 133.47 | 236.58 ± 107.65 | <0.001 1 |
| Cereals without gluten (g/day) | 138.97 ± 88.08 | 42.61 ± 65.21 | 0.001 1 | 95.17 ± 80.39 | 27.14 ± 57.71 | 0.003 1 |
| T. Cereals (with and without gluten) (g/day) | 144.76 ± 88.37 | 252.93 ± 119.18 | 0.005 2 | 193.93 ± 115.56 | 266.68 ± 104.90 | 0.009 2 |
| Meats and derivatives, and eggs | ||||||
| Meat (g/day) | 43.15 ± 26.20 | 34.05 ± 27.09 | 0.291 1 | 39.01 ± 26.59 | 31.65 ± 18.20 | 0.335 1 |
| Minced meat (g/day) | 50.70 ± 114.79 | 21.06 ± 23.91 | 0.340 1 | 37.23 ± 86.46 | 19.49 ± 14.57 | 0.718 1 |
| Chicken (g/day) | 34.38 ± 27.98 | 48.60 ± 58.34 | 0.360 1 | 40.84 ± 44.24 | 29.51 ± 19.35 | 0.466 1 |
| Pork (g/day) | 14.92 ± 22.21 | 3.21 ± 4.61 | 0.128 1 | 9.60 ± 17.50 | 2.57 ± 3.59 | 0.307 1 |
| Milanesa with gluten (g/day) | 3.07 ± 7.17 | 28.04 ± 45.10 | <0.001 1 | 14.42 ± 32.81 | 16.10 ± 12.74 | 0.014 1 |
| Milanesa without gluten (g/day) | 10.25 ± 16.25 | 0.35 ± 1.35 | 0.004 1 | 5.75 ± 12.89 | 1.24 ± 4.33 | 0.032 1 |
| Eggs (g/day) | 43.70 ± 68.38 | 29.00 ± 34.70 | 0.456 1 | 37.01 ± 55.37 | 27.37 ± 18.79 | 0.588 1 |
| Fish | ||||||
| Fresh fish (g/day) | 0.04 ± 0.18 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.361 1 | 0.02 ± 0.13 | 8.22 ± 7.99 | <0.001 1 |
| Canned fish (g/day) | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.533 1 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 5.73 ± 9.89 | <0.001 1 |
| Fish (fresh and canned) (g/day) | 0.04 ± 0.18 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.361 1 | 0.02 ± 0.13 | 13.97 ± 12.54 | <0.001 1 |
| T. foods source of proteins (g/day) | 206.05 ± 129.84 | 183.21 ± 98.64 | 0.656 1 | 195.67 ± 115.53 | 160.84 ± 50.69 | 0.386 1 |
| Butter, ghee, and oils | ||||||
| Butter (g/day) | 0.07 ± 0.33 | 2.17 ± 6.35 | 0.016 1 | 1.03 ± 4.34 | 2.93 ± 5.36 | 0.004 1 |
| Ghee (g/day) | 1.90 ± 5.85 | 0.00 ± 0.00 | 0.008 1 | 1.03 ± 4.37 | 0.06 ± 0.26 | 0.201 1 |
| Coconut oil (g/day) | 9.69 ± 11.51 | 0.48 ± 1.28 | <0.001 1 | 5.50 ± 9.63 | 0.95 ± 3.49 | 0.006 1 |
| Oil (g/day) | 27.16 ± 18.69 | 18.60 ± 11.73 | 0.122 1 | 23.27 ± 16.26 | 20.23 ± 13.24 | 0.494 1 |
| T. foods source of fat (g/day) | 40.22 ± 22.93 | 21.25 ± 13.85 | 0.007 1 | 31.60 ± 21.33 | 24.18 ± 15.57 | 0.203 1 |
Results are expressed as mean ± SD. Statistically significant differences (indicated in bold): p < 0.05 (1 Mann–Whitney test, 2 t test). ASD: autism spectrum disorder, ASD-diet: ASD children with dietary intake without gluten and casein, ASD-no diet: ASD children without restricted diet, ASD-total: ASD children with and without restricted diet. TD: typical development, BMI: body mass index, FFQ: food frequency questionnaire, T: total. Comparison between: * ASD-diet and ASD-no diet, ** ASD-total group and TD group.