Zuleika Aponte-Torres
Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified
individuals with ASD with an average prevalence
of between 1% and 2%. This study is done to describe
the nutritional profile of ASD patients in different countries.
Ten children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD
between the ages of 5-17 years residing in Europe, PR,
and the US were included in the study. The study evaluated
the basic demographic characteristics, anthropometric
measures, and nutritional profile. The mean age was 10.6
years and 80% of the population were males. The evaluation
of the anthropometric measurements determined
that 50% of the study population was obese according to
the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Using the Mann-Whitney test we analyzed the variables
height, weight, and BMI between children residing in Europe
vs those residing in the US (including PR), and no
significant difference was found (p <0.05) between both
groups. The nutritional profile showed that 50% of the
children never consume vegetables nor fresh fruits. Differences
in nutritional profile were seen in each country,
100% of the population in the US and PR never consumed
vegetables, and in PR and Spain, 100% consumed
fruits. In conclusion, children and adolescents with ASD
may be at risk of nutritional deficiencies, but the results
obtained cannot be generalized to the population of children
with ASD, further studies on this subject are necessary