Children's Nutrition Research Center, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Child Nutrition and Health, Chongqing, China.
National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorder, Chongqing, China.
Pediatr Res. 2021 Jan;89(1):211-216. doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-0865-y. Epub 2020 Mar 30.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and many individuals with ASD have gastrointestinal (GI) comorbidities. Vitamin A (VA) is an essential micronutrient that plays an important role in brain development and GI function.
A total of 323 children with ASD and 180 control children were enrolled in this study. Symptoms of ASD were assessed with the Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). Caregivers of the children completed questionnaires about GI symptoms. Serum retinol levels were detected with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Children with ASD and with GI comorbidity and constipation had considerably lower serum VA levels than autistic children without these symptoms. VA level was associated with CARS, SRS, and ABC scores, whereas GI symptoms were associated some SRS and ABC scores. The interaction of VAD and GI symptoms appeared to aggravate some of the core symptoms of children with ASD.
VAD exacerbates core symptoms in children with ASD, and ASD children with GI comorbidities also have more serious core symptoms than ASD children without GI comorbidities. VAD comorbid with GI symptoms aggravates autistic children's core symptoms.
VAD exacerbates core symptoms in children with ASD. ASD children with GI comorbidities have more serious core symptoms than ASD children without GI comorbidities. VAD comorbid with GI symptoms aggravates autistic children's core symptoms. We speculate that VAD might be related to a subtype of ASD that involves GI comorbidities. We believe that our findings will be of fundamental importance to the scientific community.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种神经发育障碍，许多 ASD 患者存在胃肠道（GI）共病。维生素 A（VA）是一种必需的微量营养素，在大脑发育和 GI 功能中发挥着重要作用。
本研究共纳入 323 名 ASD 儿童和 180 名对照儿童。采用儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）、社会反应量表（SRS）和自闭症行为检查表（ABC）评估 ASD 症状。儿童的照顾者完成了关于胃肠道症状的问卷。采用高效液相色谱法（HPLC）检测血清视黄醇水平。
有胃肠道共病和便秘症状的 ASD 儿童以及 ASD 儿童的血清 VA 水平明显低于没有这些症状的 ASD 儿童。VA 水平与 CARS、SRS 和 ABC 评分相关，而 GI 症状与某些 SRS 和 ABC 评分相关。VAD 和 GI 症状的相互作用似乎加重了 ASD 儿童的一些核心症状。
VAD 加重了 ASD 儿童的核心症状，有 GI 共病的 ASD 儿童的核心症状比没有 GI 共病的 ASD 儿童更严重。VAD 合并 GI 症状加重了自闭症儿童的核心症状。
VAD 加重了 ASD 儿童的核心症状。有 GI 共病的 ASD 儿童的核心症状比没有 GI 共病的 ASD 儿童更严重。VAD 合并 GI 症状加重了自闭症儿童的核心症状。我们推测 VAD 可能与涉及 GI 共病的 ASD 亚型有关。我们相信我们的发现将对科学界具有重要意义。
