Departamento de Educación, Escuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Montevideo CP 11600, Uruguay.
Área de Investigación, Escuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Montevideo CP 11600, Uruguay.
Nutrients. 2022 May 22;14(10):2155. doi: 10.3390/nu14102155.
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may consume a restricted diet, whether due to sensory sensitivities or an adherence to a gluten and casein free (GCF) diet. Our objective was to analyze dietary intake, nutritional status, and sensory profile in children with and without ASD. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in 65 children (3−12 years, ASD = 35, typical development (TD) = 30). Short Sensory Profile and food frequency questionnaires were applied. All participants were categorized into normal weight and excess weight, typical sensory performance (TP), and probable + definite difference (PD + DD); and ASD group into GCF dieters (ASD-diet) and non-dieters (ASD-no diet). Children with ASD had a higher intake (gr or ml/d) of vegetable drinks (p = 0.001), gluten-free cereals (p = 0.003), and a lower intake of fish (p < 0.001) than TD ones. The ASD group showed a lower score in total sensory profile score (p < 0.001) than TD group. In the ASD group, those who had PD + DD in their sensory profile consumed fewer dairies (p = 0.019), and more cereals (p = 0.036) and protein foods (p = 0.034) than those with TP. These findings confirm the need to consider the neurodevelopment, sensory profile, and type of diet to improve the ASD child’s nutrition. Further long-term research is needed to explore their impact on health.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童可能会有饮食限制，无论是由于感官敏感还是遵循无麸质和无酪蛋白（GCF）饮食。我们的目的是分析 ASD 儿童和非 ASD 儿童的饮食摄入、营养状况和感官特征。这是一项描述性、横断面研究，共纳入 65 名儿童（3-12 岁，ASD=35 名，典型发育（TD）=30 名）。应用简短感官评估和食物频率问卷。所有参与者分为正常体重和超重、典型感官表现（TP）和可能+明确差异（PD+DD）；ASD 组分为 GCF 饮食者（ASD-饮食）和非饮食者（ASD-非饮食）。与 TD 儿童相比，ASD 儿童蔬菜饮料摄入量（gr 或 ml/d）更高（p=0.001），无麸质谷物摄入量更高（p=0.003），而鱼类摄入量更低（p<0.001）。ASD 组的总感官特征评分较低（p<0.001）。在 ASD 组中，感官特征存在 PD+DD 的儿童摄入的乳制品较少（p=0.019），而谷物和蛋白质食物摄入较多（p=0.036 和 p=0.034）。这些发现证实了需要考虑神经发育、感官特征和饮食类型来改善 ASD 儿童的营养状况。需要进一步进行长期研究来探索它们对健康的影响。
