Bone mineral density accrual in students with autism spectrum disorders: Effects of calcium intake and physical training

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of weight bearing exercise and calcium intake on bone mineral density (BMD) of students with autism spectrum disorders. For this reason 60 boy students with autism disorder (age 8–10 years old) were assigned to four groups with no differences in age, BMD, calcium intake, and physical activity: exercise groups with or without calcium supplementation (Ex+Ca+ and Ex+Ca−) and non-exercise groups with or without calcium supplementation (Ex−Ca+ and Ex−Ca−). The intervention involved 50min of weight bearing exercise performed 3 sessions a week and/or the addition of dietary calcium rich food using enriched cow milk with vitamin D containing 250mg calcium per serving, over 6 months. Paired-samples t test, one way ANOVA analysis, and Tukey tests were used to determine the main and combined effects of training and calcium on BMD. All groups showed greater femoral neck BMD after 6 months. The increase in femoral neck BMD in the Ex+Ca+ group was 14.04% greater than increase in the Ex+Ca− group (P<0.05). Apparently, the effect of training was greater than calcium intake because the Ex+Ca− group achieved 4.71% greater BMD than Ex−Ca+ group (P<0.05). In this study, all experimental groups had greater BMD than the control group (Ex−Ca−) (P<0.05).In these participants, additional weight bearing exercise and calcium supplementation resulted in a greater increase in BMD than controls at the loaded site (femoral neck). These results help to provide more evidence for public health organizations to deal with both exercise and nutrition issues in children with autism disorder for the achievement and of peak BMD.