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Anthropometric assessment of a Middle Eastern group of autistic children
Nagwa A Meguid, Wafaa A Kandeel, Khaled E Wakeel, Aly A El-Nofely
Cairo, Egypt
Author Affiliations: Department of Research on Children with Special Needs, National Research Centre (NRC), Cairo, Egypt (Meguid NA); Department of Biological Anthropology, NRC, Cairo, Egypt (Kandeel WA, Wakeel KE, El-Nofely AA)
Corresponding Author:Nagwa A Meguid, MD, Human Genetics, Research on Children with Special Needs Department, National Research Centre, Tahrir street, Cairo, Egypt (Tel: 0201223316372; Fax: 202 37601877; Email: meguidna@yahoo.com)
doi: 10.1007/s12519-014-0510-0
Background: Growth abnormalities are uniquely associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, the extent to which growth abnormalities are present has hardly been investigated. The current study aims to compare the differences in anthropometric parameters in a group of autistic Egyptian children and the healthy normal population.
Methods: We recruited 100 children with ASD from the Outpatient Clinic for "Autistic Children" at the Medical Research Hospital of Excellence, National Research Centre in Cairo, Egypt. They were diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria of the American Psychiatric Association, Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Of these children at age of 3-10 years, 71 were males and 29 females. Eight anthropometric parameters were assessed in view of data of the healthy Egyptians of pertinent sex and age.
Results: Weight and body mass index increased because of a significant increase in subcutaneous fat thickness. This tendency with a probable decrease in muscle mass was more evident in male or in older children, likely resulting from sedentary life style and food selectivity.
Conclusions: The Z head circumference score and its variance significantly increased especially in males or older children, suggesting the relative overgrowth of the brain in a substantial percentage of Egyptian children with autism. We concluded that increased fat composition in Egyptian autistic children with decreased muscle mass necessitates tailoring a specially designed food supplementation program to ameliorate the severity of autism symptoms.
World J Pediatr 2014;10(4):318-323
Key words: anthropometry;
autism spectrum disorders;
Egypt;
growth
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