RESEARCH ARTICLE
Association between body mass index and subcortical volume in pre-adolescent children with autism spectrum disorder: An exploratory study
In-seong Hwang,
Soon-Beom Hong,
In-seong Hwang
Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Soon-Beom Hong
Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Correspondence
Soon-Beom Hong, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorIn-seong Hwang,
Soon-Beom Hong,
In-seong Hwang
Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Soon-Beom Hong
Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Correspondence
Soon-Beom Hong, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 18 October 2022
Abstract
Conflicting associations exist between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and subcortical brain volumes. This study assessed whether obesity might have a confounding influence on associations between ASD and brain subcortical volumes. A comprehensive investigation evaluating the relationship between ASD, obesity, and subcortical structure volumes was conducted. Data obtained included body mass index (BMI) and T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance images for children with and without ASD diagnoses from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database. Brain subcortical volumes were calculated using vol2Brain software. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the subcortical volumes similarly or differentially associated with BMI in children with or without ASD and examine association and interaction effects regarding ASD and subcortical volume impact on the Social Responsiveness Scale and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) scores. Bilateral caudate nuclei were smaller in children with ASD than in control participants. Significant interactions were observed between ASD diagnosis and BMI regarding the left caudate, right and left putamen, and right and left ventral diencephalon (DC) volumes (β = −0.384, p = 0.010; β = −0.336, p = 0.030; β = −0.317, p = 0.040; β = 0.322, p = 0.010; β = 0.295, p = 0.021, respectively) and between ASD diagnosis and right and left ventral DC volumes regarding the VABS scores (β = 0.434, p = 0.014; β = 0.495, p = 0.007, respectively). However, each subcortical structure volume included in the ventral DC area could not be measured separately. The results identified subcortical volumes differentially associated with obesity in children with ASD compared with typically developing peers. BMI may need to be considered an important confounder in future research examining brain subcortical volumes within ASD.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data used in this study has already (previously) been made public. The study data are available through the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (at http://fcon_1000.projects.nitrc.org/indi/abide) and the Preprocessed Connectomes Project (at http://preprocessed-connectomes-project.org).
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| aur2834-sup-0001-Tables.docxWord 2007 document , 53 KB | Supplemental Table S1. Interaction of ASD diagnosis and subcortical volumes on VABS subscores Supplemental Table S2. Association of subcortical volumes with SRS subscores Supplemental Table S3. Correlation between the vol2Brain and FreeSurfer measurements Supplemental Table S4. Interaction of ASD diagnosis and BMI on subcortical volumes exclusively in participants from New York University Supplemental Table S5. Interaction of ASD diagnosis and BMI on subcortical volumes without restriction in age range Supplemental Table S6. Interaction of ASD diagnosis and BMI on ICV |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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