Evaluation of Appetite-Regulating Hormones ın Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Young autistic children show higher appetite hormones, but the spike does not map onto autism or feeding severity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Çelikkol Sadıç et al. (2021) drew blood from young children with autism and from same-age peers without autism.
They measured four appetite hormones: leptin, ghrelin, neuropeptide Y, and nesfatin-1.
The goal was to see if these hormone levels line up with autism traits or feeding problems.
What they found
Kids with autism had higher leptin and ghrelin than the control group.
Levels of neuropeptide Y and nesfatin-1 looked the same in both groups.
Surprisingly, the extra leptin and ghrelin did not track with how severe the autism or feeding issues were.
How this fits with other research
Esteban-Figuerola et al. (2019) pooled many studies and found autistic children eat less dairy, calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3. Çağla’s hormone data add a possible body-chemistry reason for those gaps.
Çıtar Dazıroğlu et al. (2024) showed school-age autistic youth also have lower antioxidant intake. Together the two papers build a picture: altered appetite signals plus poorer nutrient input.
Gulati et al. (2026) saw higher oxidative-stress markers in autistic kids but, like Çağla, found no link to symptom severity. The pattern suggests biological differences exist, yet do not directly predict how autism looks day to day.
Why it matters
You now have a lab-backed reason to screen food intake in preschoolers with autism. High leptin and ghrelin may nudge kids toward picky eating even when parents report “mild” symptoms. Pair nutrition logs with hormone data when standard feeding plans stall.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study aimed to investigate the role of leptin, ghrelin, neuropeptide Y, and nesfatin-1 in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A total of 44 children with ASD and 44 healthy controls aged 18-60 months were included. Plasma levels of hormones were measured using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Plasma leptin and ghrelin levels were significantly higher in the ASD group than in the control group. However, no significant difference for plasma neuropeptide Y and nesfatin-1 levels was detected between the groups. No relation was found between the severity of ASD symptoms, severity of eating problems, and plasma levels of hormones. Leptin and ghrelin may play a potential role in the pathogenesis of ASD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2021 · doi:10.1080/10408363.2018.1519522