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Eating and Mealtime Behaviors in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives.

ABSTRACT: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social and communication skills and repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Children and adolescents with ASD are more likely to present feeding problems than their typically developing peers are. The present narrative review of literature aims to highlight the most recent evidence about epidemiology and presentations of eating and mealtime behavioral abnormalities in ASD from infancy to adolescence. Abnormalities in breastfeeding and acceptance of complementary foods have been described by most of the studies evaluating ASD early feeding history. Among the various eating and mealtime behaviors identified in ASD children and adolescents, the most common was food selectivity. The present review also provides brief overviews of the various aspects of food that may influence food acceptance by ASD patients and of the correlation between eating problems and ASD core symptoms, as well as with cognitive level, language skills, and family environment. However, studies evaluating eating problems in ASD children and adolescents are very heterogeneous and they show methodological differences. Moreover, the absence of unique definitions of eating and mealtime behaviors in ASD further limits the comparability of studies.

SUBMITTER: Margari L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7504729 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Eating and Mealtime Behaviors in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives.

Margari Lucia L Marzulli Lucia L Gabellone Alessandra A de Giambattista Concetta C

Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment 20200911

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social and communication skills and repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Children and adolescents with ASD are more likely to present feeding problems than their typically developing peers are. The present narrative review of literature aims to highlight the most recent evidence about epidemiology and presentations of eating and mealtime behavioral abnormalities in ASD from infancy to adolescence. Abnormal ...[more]

PMID: 32982247

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Project description:ObjectivesElevated glucose variability may be one mechanism that increases risk for significant psychological and physiological health conditions among individuals with binge-spectrum eating disorders (B-EDs), given the impact of eating disorder (ED) behaviors on blood glucose levels. This study aimed to characterize glucose variability among individuals with B-EDs compared with age-matched, sex-matched, and body mass index-matched controls, and investigate the association between frequency of ED behaviors and glucose variability.MethodsParticipants were 52 individuals with B-EDs and 22 controls who wore continuous glucose monitors to measure blood glucose levels and completed ecological momentary assessment surveys to measure ED behaviors for 1 week. Independent samples t-tests compared individuals with B-EDs and controls and multiple linear regression models examined the association between ED behaviors and glucose variability.ResultsIndividuals with B-EDs demonstrated numerically higher glucose variability than controls (t = 1.42, p = .08, d = 0.43), although this difference was not statistically significant. When controlling for covariates, frequency of ED behaviors was significantly, positively associated with glucose variability (t = 3.17, p = .003) with medium effect size (f2 = 0.25). Post hoc analyses indicated that binge eating frequency was significantly associated with glucose variability, while episodes of 5+ hours without eating were not.DiscussionGlucose variability among individuals with B-EDs appears to be positively associated with engagement in ED behaviors, particularly binge eating. Glucose variability may be an important mechanism by which adverse health outcomes occur at elevated rates in B-EDs and warrants future study.Public significanceThis study suggests that some individuals with binge ED and bulimia nervosa may experience elevated glucose variability, a physiological symptom that is linked to a number of adverse health consequences. The degree of elevation in glucose variability is positive associated with frequency of eating disorder behaviors, especially binge eating.

Project description:BackgroundSensorimotor issues are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), related to core symptoms, and predictive of worse functional outcomes. Deficits in rapid behaviors supported primarily by feedforward mechanisms, and continuous, feedback-guided motor behaviors each have been reported, but the degrees to which they are distinct or co-segregate within individuals and across development are not well understood.MethodsWe characterized behaviors that varied in their involvement of feedforward control relative to feedback control across skeletomotor (precision grip force) and oculomotor (saccades) control systems in 109 individuals with ASD and 101 age-matched typically developing controls (range: 5-29 years) including 58 individuals with ASD and 57 controls who completed both grip and saccade tests. Grip force was examined across multiple force (15, 45, and 85% MVC) and visual gain levels (low, medium, high). Maximum grip force also was examined. During grip force tests, reaction time, initial force output accuracy, variability, and entropy were examined. For the saccade test, latency, accuracy, and trial-wise variability of latency and accuracy were examined.ResultsRelative to controls, individuals with ASD showed similar accuracy of initial grip force but reduced accuracy of saccadic eye movements specific to older ages of our sample. Force variability was greater in ASD relative to controls, but saccade gain variability (across trials) was not different between groups. Force entropy was reduced in ASD, especially at older ages. We also find reduced grip strength in ASD that was more severe in dominant compared to non-dominant hands.LimitationsOur age-related findings rely on cross-sectional data. Longitudinal studies of sensorimotor behaviors and their associations with ASD symptoms are needed.ConclusionsWe identify reduced accuracy of initial motor output in ASD that was specific to the oculomotor system implicating deficient feedforward control that may be mitigated during slower occurring behaviors executed in the periphery. Individuals with ASD showed increased continuous force variability but similar levels of trial-to-trial saccade accuracy variability suggesting that feedback-guided refinement of motor commands is deficient specifically when adjustments occur rapidly during continuous behavior. We also document reduced lateralization of grip strength in ASD implicating atypical hemispheric specialization.

Dataset Information

Eating and Mealtime Behaviors in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives.

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Eating and Mealtime Behaviors in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives.

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