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. 2013 Nov;2(6):8-18.
doi: 10.7453/gahmj.2013.003.

Gender differences among children with autism spectrum disorder: differential symptom patterns

Sidney M Baker  1 , Andrew Milivojevich  2
Affiliations

Gender differences among children with autism spectrum disorder: differential symptom patterns

Sidney M Baker et al. Glob Adv Health Med. 2013 Nov.

Abstract
in English, Chinese, Spanish

The gender ratio among children in the autism spectrum of more than four boys to every girl is widely recognized. The authors present an analysis of gender differences among 79 482 symptoms and strengths in 1495 boys and 336 girls aged 2 to 18 years from parent-identified autistic children reported to a structurally novel anonymous parent-entered online database, Autism360. The data reveal differences that provide previously undetected clues to gender differences in immune and central nervous system and gastrointestinal functional disturbances. Together with published observations of male/female differences in inflammation, oxidative stress, and detoxication, these findings open doors to research focusing on gender physiology as clues to etiologic factors in autism. This study exemplifies a research method based on a large, detailed, patient-entered, structured data set in which patterns of individual illness and healing may answer collective questions about prevention and treatment.

广泛认可的自闭症谱系患儿中的男女性别比例在四比一以上。通过一个名为 Autism360 的、由父母输入数据的新型结构型匿名在线数据库，获得父母认定的自闭症报告，作者们在 1495 名年龄在 2-18 岁之间的男孩和 336 名女孩中针对79482 项症状和优势进行了性别差异的分析。数据显示，这些差异提供了之前未被发现的线索，使人们发现了免疫、中枢神经系统和胃肠功能紊乱等方面的性别差异。与已经公布的关于男女两性在炎症、氧化应激和解毒作用方面的差异相结合，这些发现打开了性别生理学研究的大门，而这项研究正好为自闭症病因学提供了线索。本研究举例证明了一种以大型、详细、患者录入的结构化数据集为基础的研究方法，在该数据集中，个体病症和治疗的模式有可能回答关于预防和治疗的综合性问题。

La proporción por sexos entre los niños del espectro autista, que es de más de cuatro niños por niña, es un dato ampliamente admitido. Los autores presentan un análisis de las diferencias por sexo en 79.482 síntomas y puntos fuertes en 1.495 niños y 336 niñas de edades comprendidas entre los 2 y los 18 años, datos procedentes de niños autistas identificados por el padre o la madre y comunicados a una base de datos anónima en línea, de estructura novedosa, en la que los padres son quienes introducen los datos, Autism360. Los datos revelan la existencia de diferencias que facilitan unas pistas que no habían sido detectadas anteriormente sobre las diferencias por sexo en los trastornos funcionales gastrointestinales, en el sistema inmunitario y en el sistema nervioso central. Junto con las observaciones publicadas sobre las diferencias niño/niña con respecto a la inflamación, el estrés oxidativo y la desintoxicación, estos hallazgos abren puertas a la investigación centrada en la fisiología de género para la búsqueda de pistas sobre los factores etiológicos del autismo. Este estudio ejemplifica un método de investigación que se basa en un amplio y detallado conjunto de datos estructurados, introducidos por los pacientes, en el que patrones individuales de enfermedad y curación pueden dar respuesta a preguntas colectivas sobre prevención y tratamiento.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; gender; information technology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 79 482 profile items encoded as intersections among 39 systems and 42 functions from 1831 individuals aged 2 to 18 years from Autism360. Abbreviation: CNS, central nervous system.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Subset of 52 725 profile items encoded as intersections among 6 systems and 8 functions from 1525 boys and 336 girls from Autism360. Abbreviation: CNS, central nervous system.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A two-sample proportion test was employed to determine whether there was a statistical difference in the proportion based on gender for each of the 712 different profile items.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Profile items were sorted by z value to produce a table showing the extremes of P values among females (pink) and males (blue).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Thirty-one girl-dominant and 52 boy-dominant provile items from the extremes (P < .05, dark colors) were selected for detailed tabular presentation and graphic summarization. Two hundred profile items adjacent to each extreme (light pink and blue) were selected for categorization by system.
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Figure 6 With strengths set aside, all profile items are shown in this comparison of the profile item count data in Table 2. The graph summarizes findings that point to more central nervous system and immune system problems among autistic girls and more behavioral abnormalities among autistic boys.
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The distribution of profile items with low numbers revealed no overrepresentation planned within female- and male-dominant selections.
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