Department of Educational Psychology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, USA.
Pediatr Neurol. 2011 Feb;44(2):97-100. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2010.09.011.
Research indicates the presence of macrocephaly or abnormally large head circumferences in children with autism and spectrum-related disorders, compared with their typically developing peers. Previous research, however, centered on non-nationally representative, clinic-based samples of children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Moreover, these samples were typically small. The present study represents results of a nationally representative, community-based sample of children with and without autism spectrum disorders, derived from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. Results reveal statistically nonsignificant differences in the head circumferences of children with autism spectrum disorders across three time points, compared with children without autism spectrum disorders. These results may be considered highly generalizable, because they are derived from a nationally representative, community-based sample of children with and without autism spectrum disorders from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort.
研究表明，自闭症谱系障碍儿童的头围较大或明显大于其同龄的正常发育儿童。然而，之前的研究主要集中在非全国代表性的、以自闭症谱系障碍儿童和成人为主的临床样本上。此外，这些样本通常规模较小。本研究代表了来自儿童纵向研究出生队列的自闭症谱系障碍儿童和无自闭症谱系障碍儿童的全国代表性、基于社区的样本的结果。结果显示，在三个时间点上，自闭症谱系障碍儿童的头围与无自闭症谱系障碍儿童相比没有统计学上的显著差异。这些结果可能具有高度的普遍性，因为它们来自儿童纵向研究出生队列的自闭症谱系障碍儿童和无自闭症谱系障碍儿童的全国代表性、基于社区的样本。
