Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children with Functional Defecation Disorder

Abstract
Background: Defecation-related functional gastrointestinal disorders are common problems in childhood. Children with neurodevelopmental disorder, including ASD, are regularly affected by gastrointestinal problems and dysbiosis of gut microbiota.
Aim of Work: To assess the prevalence of ASD symptoms in patients with FDD and to discover, its demographic and clinical predictors in those patients.
Patients and Methods: The study included 60 children with FDD diagnosed according to Rome IV criteria. ASD was diagnosed according to Childhood Autism Spectrum Test.
Results: The reported functional defecation disorders included functional constipation (FC) in 46 patients (76.7%) and functional non-retentive fecal incontinence (FNRFI) in 14 patients (23.3%). The prevalence of ASD in the FC patients was (34.8%). Patients with ASD had significantly higher total criteria count when compared with patients without ASD. In addition, they had significantly younger age of onset and longer symptom duration. In patients with FNRFI, 3 patients (21.4%) were diagnosed with ASD. Moreover, it was found that ASD patients had significantly younger age of onset and longer duration of symptoms.
Conclusions: The current study could identify ASD in 16 patients (34.8%) with FC. In patients with FNRFI, 3 patients (21.4%) were diagnosed with ASD.