Journal of Nursing Research Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Autism is a severe disability disorder in early childhood, characterized by prominent patterns of social disability, communication disorders, and rigorous ritual interest. An interesting hypothesis concerns the role of the gastrointestinal (GI) microflora in the pathophysiology of ASD.

Materials and Methods: This case-control study was designed to determine the association between 50 autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and selected demographic characteristics of children aged between 3 to 16 years old whom compared with 38 children who aged between 3 to 12 years as control. This study was conducted at Children’ Hospital, Autism Consultation Unit at Kirkuk city, Iraq. Ascertainment of the ASD diagnosis was made according to criteria of the DSM-IV, 1994. The mothers were interviewed concerning the information relating to age of the subjects, gender, paternal education, maternal education and place of residence.

Results: The birth delivery was mostly vaginal for both groups. Male-to-female prevalence ratio was 4:1 concerning ASD. The present study revealed that 28% of the ASD cases were of the first-born children and the second turn of delivery was represented by 24%. Each of parental education was subdivided into ≤ 12 years group and ˃ 12 years education group.

Conclusions: The mean age of control was 6.6 years and they mostly males of urban area. The birth delivery was mostly vaginal for both groups. Male-to-female prevalence ratio was 4:1 concerning ASD. Children with ASD showed a higher proportion of males and formula feeding compared with controls, while both groups exhibited similar distributions of residence and delivery mode. Chi-square analysis demonstrated no significant difference in birth-order distribution between autistic children and controls (χ² = 3.396, df = 7, P = 0.846). These findings suggest that birth order was not associated with the occurrence of autism in the studied population. Birth-order patterns were comparable across educational categories, suggesting that parental education level was not a major determinant of birth-order distribution in the studied population.