DIET, ANTHROPOMETRY AND GUT PERMEABILITY IN MEXICAN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

• Published in: Annals of nutrition and metabolism 2017-10, Vol.71 (Suppl. 2), p.1131
• Main Authors: García, Karina Alejandra Pedroza, Ronquillo, Dolores, Anaya-Loyola, Miriam Aracely, Rosado, Jorge L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescents; Anthropometry; Autism; Autistic children; Body measurements; Body weight; Calcium permeability; Children; Children & youth; Diet; Digestive system; Disorders; Food; Food intake; Food selection; Gastrointestinal tract; High fat diet; High-performance liquid chromatography; Intestine; Lactulose; Learning disabilities; Liquid chromatography; Malnutrition; Mannitol; Minerals; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Nutritional status; Obesity; Overweight; Permeability; Social behavior; Social factors; Social interaction; Sugar; Teenagers; Tocopherol; Urine; Vitamin D; Vitamin E; Vitamins; Young adults
• ISSN: 0250-6807; 1421-9697
• DOI: 10.1159/000480486

Background and objectives: Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) comprise a group of developmental disorders, characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication, and behavioral patterns. Children with ASD may present nutritional challenges, specially as a result of their restrictive behaviors such as selective food intake, increased sensory sensitivity leading to rejection of food, disruptive behavior to specific foods and refusal to accept new foods. Aditionally, nutritional status can be affected by gastrointestinal problems that may be related to a leaky gut. The aim of the study was to evaluate diet, anthropometry and intestinal permeability of ASD children and teenagers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was crried out in 22 ASD children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years from the cities of Aguascalientes and Queretaro, Mexico. Diet was evaluated by means of three 24-hour recalls a food frequency questionnaire. Weight and height were measured by duplicate and BMI was stimated and compared with WHO z score. Intestinal permeability was evaluated by a lactulose/mannitol test and its subsequent measurement in urine by HPLC. Results: At the end of the study it was observed a high prevalence of malnutrition, 18.2% of the participants have low weight for height and 50% have overweight or obesity; the diet was unbalanced with a high content of fat and refined sugar, and a poor consumption of fiber (13.0g ± 5.2), vitamin E, vitamin D, potassium, calcium and zinc. Intestinal permeability was in average 0.01 ± 0.02 and it was adequate in 80% of the sampe. Conclusions: In this study it was found that participants have deficient consumption of some vitamins and minerals, but high ingesti...n of fat and sugar, and a hight percentage of participants have overweight or obesity, its advisable to developt food counseling strategies for children with ASD. In contrast with previous studies, intestinal permeability was adecuate in Mexican children with ASD.