Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids Levels Were Not Associated With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Chinese Children: A Case-Control Study.

Jue Wang,Yan Li,William Kwame Amakye,Jingjing Liang,Hengying Chen,Zheqing Zhang,Jialiang Pan,Bingjie Ma,Xinwei Chu,Limei Mao

doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.01216

Abstract

Evidence from animal models supports a link between short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), a key subset of gut microbial metabolites, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, findings from human studies on this topic are unclear. We aimed to investigate whether fecal SCFAs are associated with ASD in Chinese children aged 6–9 years old. A total of 45 ASD children aged 6–9 years and 90 sex- and age-matched neurotypical controls were enrolled. High-performance liquid chromatography was applied to quantify 10 SCFA subtypes in feces. Dietary and other socio-demographic information were obtained via face-to-face interview using questionnaires. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, paired t-test analysis indicated that the fecal total and subtype SCFA concentrations were comparable in autistic children and the controls. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between the fecal concentration of SCFAs and the risk of ASD after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, breastfeeding, mode of delivery, parental education level, and daily energy, protein, fat, and fiber intake. In conclusion, our results did not support the hypothesis that fecal SCFA levels might be associated with the presence of ASD. However, SCFA measurement was based on a single stool sample test, so this conclusion should be treated with caution. Further studies with measurement of long-term bodily SCFA concentrations are needed to examine this relationship.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder placing a substantial burden on individuals, families, and society (Lyall et al, 2017)
Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Autism meta-analysis based on 44 studies found that the pooled prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was 39.23 per 10000 (Wang et al, 2018)
A study reported that the average loss of annual income associated with having a child with ASD was Chinese RenMinBi (RMB) 44077 ($7226) compared with RMB 20788 ($3408) for families with some other disabled children (Ou et al, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder placing a substantial burden on individuals, families, and society (Lyall et al, 2017). The most recent estimate from the National Health Interview Survey of the United States showed that ASD prevalence was 2.47% among United States children and adolescents in 2014–2016 (Xu et al, 2018). Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Autism meta-analysis based on 44 studies found that the pooled prevalence of ASD was 39.23 per 10000 (95% CI: 28.44–50.03 per 10,000, I2 = 89.2%) (Wang et al, 2018). ASD is associated with substantial disability and economic loss. A study reported that the average loss of annual income associated with having a child with ASD was Chinese RenMinBi (RMB) 44077 ($7226) compared with RMB 20788 ($3408) for families with some other disabled children (Ou et al, 2015). Searching for approaches to improving the core deficits and lives of people with ASD is of great importance

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