The association of body mass index and dietary fat intake with autism in children: a case-control study
Abstract
Purpose
Deficiencies or imbalances in dietary fat intake may influence on mental and neurological functions of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study aims to compare body mass index (BMI) and the amount of fatty acids intake in the autistic patients with the comparison group.
Design/methodology/approach
This case-control was carried out on 200 randomly selected children from 5 to 15 years old (100 autistic patients as the case group and 100 healthy children as the comparison group) in Tehran, Iran. The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the intake of calorie, macronutrients and different types of dietary fatty acids including saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic acid (LA), α-Linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and trans fatty acids.
Findings
The autistic patients had higher BMI, birth weight and mother’s BMI compared to the comparison group (All p < 0.01). No significant difference was found in the amount of dietary calorie, protein, carbohydrate and total fat intake between two groups. The risk of ASD was associated with higher intake of MUFAs (OR: 3.18, CI%:1.13–4.56, p = 0.04), PUFAs (OR: 4.12, CI95%: 2.01–6.25, p < 0.01) and LA (OR: 4.76, CI95%: 1.34–14.32, p < 0.01).
Originality/value
The autistic children had higher BMI and higher intake of unsaturated fatty acids except for omega-3 fatty acids. Further longitudinal studies are warranted.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study is related to the project No. 1397/3898 from Student Research Committee, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Declaration of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study has been approved by Local ethics review boards at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (IR.SBMU.RETECH.REC.1397.1137).
Consent for publication: Institutional consent forms were used in this study.
Retraction: The publisher of Nutrition & Food Science wishes to retract the following article by Maryam Gholamalizadeh, Narjes Ashouri Mirsadeghi, Samira Rastgoo, Saheb Abbas Torki, Fatemeh Bourbour, Naser Kalantari, Hanieh Shafaei, Zohreh Teymoori, Atiyeh Alizadeh, Alireza Mosavi Jarrahi, and Saeid Doaei (2022) “The association of body mass index and dietary fat intake with autism in children: a case-control study” published on 24 January 2022, DOI 10.1108/NFS-12-2021-0366. It has come to our attention that there are concerns that the peer review process was compromised, and that, as a result, the findings cannot be relied upon. Authors submitting to the journal are expected to adhere to the guidelines and policies of the journal. The journal sincerely apologises to its readers.
Citation
Gholamalizadeh, M., Mirsadeghi, N.A., Rastgoo, S., Abbas Torki, S., Bourbour, F., Kalantari, N., Shafaei, H., Teymoori, Z., Alizadeh, A., Mosavi Jarrahi, A. and Doaei, S. (2022), "The association of body mass index and dietary fat intake with autism in children: a case-control study", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-12-2021-0366
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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