Characteristics of intestinal microbiome in children with autism

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of dysbiosis in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study was observational, cohort, comparative. All the patients included in it were divided into 2 groups. The first (main) group (n=46) consisted of children aged 4.92±1.57 years with an established diagnosis of ASD. The second (n=20, comparison group) included conditionally healthy children (1 and 2 health groups) aged 5.10±1.16 years, not suffering from ASD. It was stated that in children with autism a reduced content of lactobacilli (p=0.056), the practical absence of lactic acid streptococci (p=0.019), a rarer detection of individual strains of Enterobacter bacteria (Ent. cloacae; p=0.033), an increase of 2 or more times in the frequency in level of hemolytic Escherichia coli (E. coli; p=0.041), some strains of bacteria of the genus Klebsiella (Kl. Рneumoniae; p=0.080) and Citrobacter (Citr. freundii, p=0.015); Staphylococcus aureus (14% vs. 6%, p>0.050) and Candidae fungi (11% vs. 6%, p>0.050) were found more often than in healthy children. In addition, patients with autism have enough level of Bifidobacterium and Escherichia coli. The study showed the presence of shifts in the gut microbiome in children with autism spectrum disorders. At the same time, structure of microbiome differed significantly from that typical for healthy children