Comparative study on nutritional knowledge awareness between parents with ASD and healthy children

Objective To compare nutritional knowledge between parents with ASD and healthy children.Methods During April to Oct.in 2016,162 cases with ASD aged 3-17 years were recruited from developmental and behavioral clinic in Harbin Medical University and special education schools.Another 145 age-gender-matched healthy children were chosen as control group.A cross-sectional nutritional knowledge questionnaire survey was conducted among parents of ASD and healthy control children.Results Compared to control group,parents of ASD children had lower score on basic nutrients knowledge,polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) related knowledge and overall nutrition knowledge(P<0.05).Higher proportion of continued DHA supplementation or never having DHA supplementation was found in ASD group than that in control group(P<0.01);The Internet was the main resource for both groups of parents getting access to dietary information.Proportion of reading related nutritional books was lower in the ASD group(P<0.05).Conclusion Besides the daily rehabilitation training,it is necessary to improve parents on nutritional and dietary knowledge,especially with regard to PUFAs,which would facilitate better comprehensive development of children with ASD.