Children who have autism far more likely to have tummy troubles

Children with autism experience gastrointestinal (GI) upsets such as constipation, diarrhea and sensitivity to foods six-to-eight times more often than do children who are developing typically, and those symptoms are related to behavioral problems, including social withdrawal, irritability and repetitive behaviors, a new study by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

The researchers said that understanding the impact of GI problems in children with autism could provide new insight into more effective and appropriate autism treatments could decrease their GI difficulties that may have the potential to decrease their problem behaviors.

The investigation is the largest and the most ethnically diverse study comparing GI problems in children with autism, developmental delay and typical development, and among the first to examine the relationship between GI symptoms and problem behaviors in children with autism, the researchers said.

"Gastrointestinal Problems in Children with Autism, Developmental Delays or Typical Development" is published online today in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

"Parents of children with autism have long said that their kids endure more GI problems, but little has been known about the true prevalence of these complications or their underlying causes," said Virginia Chaidez, the lead study author who was a postdoctoral student in the UC Davis Department of Public Health Sciences at the time of the study.

"The GI problems they experience may be bidirectional," Chaidez said. "GI problems may create behavior problems, and those behavior problems may create or exacerbate GI problems. One way to try to tease this out would be to begin investigating the effects of various treatments and their effects on both GI symptoms and problem behaviors."

The study was conducted in nearly 1,000 children enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) Study in Northern California between April 2003 and May 2011. The children were between 24 and 60 months at the time when they were enrolled in the study. Their diagnoses were confirmed through assessments at the MIND Institute. Roughly half of the study population was white and one-third was Hispanic. The remaining participants were of other ethnic and racial backgrounds.

The study was conducted by asking the children's parents to complete two self-administered questionnaires, the CHARGE Gastrointestinal History Questionnaire (GIH) and the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). The GIH measures such disorders as abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation and difficulty swallowing. The ABC measures challenging behaviors including irritability, lethargy/social withdrawal, repetitive behaviors (stereotypies), hyperactivity and inappropriate speech.

Did you know ...

Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys