Wang Xin, Song Xiaojing, Jin Yuying, Zhan Xiaoling, Cao Muqing, Guo Xuning, Liu Siyu, Ou Xiaoxuan, Gu Tingfeng, Jing Jin, Cai Li, Li Xiuhong
Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Front Nutr. 2022 Aug 4;9:940246. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.940246. eCollection 2022.
It is well known that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had executive functions deficit. However, it is still unclear whether the poor dietary quality is related to the impairment of executive functions. The current study aimed to explore the association between dietary quality and executive functions in children with ASD.
A total of 106 children with ASD (7.7 ± 1.3 years) and 207 typically developing (TD) children (7.8 ± 1.3 years) were enrolled from Guangzhou, China. The Chinese version of Behavior Rating Scale of Executive function (BRIEF), the working memory subscales of the Chinese version of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), and the Stroop Color-Word Test (SCWT) were used to measure the participant's executive functions. The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to collect the dietary intake information, and the Chinese Diet Balance Index (DBI_16) was used to evaluate the dietary quality. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the association between dietary quality and executive functions.
In children with ASD, Low Bound Score (LBS) was positively correlated with the working memory subscale score of BRIEF (β = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.02-0.44, < 0.05), while High Bound Score (HBS) and LBS were positively correlated with the organizable subscale score of BRIEF (β = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.11-0.77, < 0.01; β = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.01-0.37, < 0.05). Compared to TD children, children with ASD had a higher proportion of moderate and high levels of insufficient dietary intake (moderate level, 37.7% vs. 23.2%, high level, 4.7% vs. 1.4%) and moderate level of unbalanced dietary intake (36.8% vs.21.3%), higher scores on all subscales of BRIEF ( < 0.01), and lower score on the working memory (81.3 ± 32.3 vs. 104.6 ± 12.5, < 0.01), while there was no difference on the SCWT.
Poor dietary quality was associated with the impairment of working memory and organizational capacity in children with ASD. This study emphasized the importance of dietary quality in executive functions among children with ASD, and attention should be paid to improving their dietary quality.
众所周知，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童存在执行功能缺陷。然而，饮食质量差是否与执行功能受损相关仍不清楚。本研究旨在探讨ASD儿童饮食质量与执行功能之间的关联。
从中国广州招募了106名ASD儿童（7.7±1.3岁）和207名发育正常（TD）儿童（7.8±1.3岁）。使用中文版执行功能行为评定量表（BRIEF）、中文版韦氏儿童智力量表第四版（WISC-IV）的工作记忆分量表以及斯特鲁普颜色-文字测验（SCWT）来测量参与者的执行功能。使用食物频率问卷（FFQ）收集饮食摄入信息，并使用中国饮食平衡指数（DBI_16）评估饮食质量。采用广义线性模型估计饮食质量与执行功能之间的关联。
在ASD儿童中，低界分（LBS）与BRIEF的工作记忆分量表得分呈正相关（β=0.23，95%CI：0.02-0.44，P<0.05），而高界分（HBS）和LBS与BRIEF的组织分量表得分呈正相关（β=0.44，95%CI：0.11-0.77，P<0.01；β=0.19，95%CI：0.01-0.37，P<0.05）。与TD儿童相比，ASD儿童饮食摄入不足处于中度和高度水平的比例更高（中度水平，37.7%对23.2%，高度水平，4.7%对1.4%），饮食摄入不均衡处于中度水平的比例更高（36.8%对21.3%），BRIEF所有分量表得分更高（P<0.01），工作记忆得分更低（81.3±32.3对104.6±12.5，P<0.01），而在SCWT上无差异。
饮食质量差与ASD儿童的工作记忆和组织能力受损有关。本研究强调了饮食质量在ASD儿童执行功能中的重要性，应注意改善他们的饮食质量。
