Reduced Bone Cortical Thickness in Boys with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2007 Sep 19; [Epub ahead of print]

Reduced Bone Cortical Thickness in Boys with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Hediger ML, England LJ, Molloy CA, Yu KF, Manning-Courtney P, Mills JL.

Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (DESPR, NICHD, NIH), Department of Health and Human Services, Bldg 6100, Rm 7B03, MSC 7510, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892-7510, USA.

Bone development, casein-free diet use, supplements, and medications were assessed for 75 boys with autism or autism spectrum disorder, ages 4-8 years. Second metacarpal bone cortical thickness (BCT), measured on hand-wrist radiographs, and % deviations in BCT from reference medians were derived. BCT increased with age, but % deviations evidenced a progressive fall-off (p = .02): +3.1 +/- 4.7%, -6.5 +/- 4.0%, -16.6 +/- 3.4%, -19.4 +/- 3.7%, -24.1 +/- 4.4%, at ages 4-8, respectively, adjusting for height. The 12% of the boys on casein-free diets had an overall % deviation of -18.9 +/- 3.7%, nearly twice that of boys on minimally restricted or unrestricted diets (-10.5 +/- 1.3%, p < .04), although even for boys on minimally restricted or unrestricted diets the % deviation was highly significant (p < .001). Our data suggest that the bone development of autistic boys should be monitored as part of routine care, especially if they are on casein-free diets.

PMID: 17879151 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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