Table 1.
General characteristics of the participants in the study.
| Variables |
Total population
(n = 219) |
ASD
(n = 135) |
Controls
(n = 84) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 3.25 (3.00,3.83) | 3.25 (2.75,4.25) | 3.33 (3.50,3.00) | 0.647 |
| ≤3 | 82 (37.4) | 55 (40.7) | 27 (32.1) | 0.251 |
| >3 | 137 (62.6) | 80 (59.3) | 57 (67.9) | – |
| Men, n (%) | 181 (82.60) | 117 (86.70) | 64 (76.20) | 0.066 |
| BMI, kg/m 2 | 16.09 ± 1.90 | 16.39 ± 1.90 | 15.59 ± 1.81 | <0.001 |
| ZBMIA | 0.38 ± 1.40 | 0.65 ± 1.33 | −0.05 ± 1.40 | 0.001 |
| Overweight | 26 (11.87) | 23 (9.6) | 3 (3.6) | 0.002 |
| Developmental delay, n (%) | 115 (52.51) | 115 (85.2) | 0 | – |
| Picky eating, n (%) | 97 (44.29) | 77 (79.40) | 20 (20.60) | 0.001 |
| Resistance to vegetables, n (%) | 70 (31.96) | 57 (81.4) | 13 (18.6) | <0.001 |
|
Resistance to meats, n (%) |
36 (16.44) | 27 (75.0) | 9 (25.0) | 0.091 |
|
Resistance to fruits, n (%) |
14 (6.40) | 11 (78.60) | 3 (21.40) | 0.258 |
| History of taking vitamins, n (%) | 86 (39.27) | 71 (82.6) | 15 (17.4) | <0.001 |
| Severity of ASD, n (%) | ||||
| Mild to moderate | 65 (29.68) | 65 (48.1) | 0 | – |
| Severe | 70 (31.96) | 70 (51.9) | 0 | – |
| Hcy, μmol/L | 6.68 (5.30, 7.95) | 7.50 (6.70, 8.90) | 5.15 (4.49, 6.03) | 0.005 |
| Folate, nmol/L | 29.3 (19.6, 37.7) | 27.6 (17.6, 34.8) | 31.4 (23.5, 40.5) | 0.003 |
| VitB12, pmol/L | 583 (415, 772) | 530 (369, 708) | 649 (478, 839) | 0.005 |
BMI, body mass index; ZBMIA, z score for BMI-for-age; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; Hcy, homocysteine; VitB12, vitamin B12. Overweight is defined as a ZBMIA > 2. Data are presented as number (percentage) for categorical data, mean ± standard deviation for parametrically distributed data, or median (interquartile range) for non-parametrically distributed data. Student's t-test or the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for comparison of the continuous variables according to the data distribution, and chi-square tests were used for the categorical variables.