بررسی نیمرخ ساختاری کودکان اوتیسم

Background and purpose: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is one of the most common disorders in the group of developmental disorders. The prevalence of ASDs is 110 per 10000 individuals. The purpose of this investigation was the study of postural profile in children with ASDs. Materials and methods: A total of 15 male students with ASDs and 15 healthy children were randomly selected. Demographic characteristics of the subjects including height, weight, age, and medical conditions were obtained using their medical records. Kyphosis, lordosis, thoracic and lumbar scoliosis, genu varum, genu valgum, and flat foot were considered as postural profile. Spinal mouse was employed to assess the kyphosis, lordosis, and thoracic and lumbar scoliosis. Moreover, in order to determine the genu varum and genu valgum callipers were used, and navicular drop test was applied for flat foot measurement. Independent sample-t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were employed to compare the results.  Results: The mean age of children with ASDs was 7.73±1.4 years, mean height=125±11.57 cm, mean weight=30.1±11.49 kg, and mean BMI=18.13±4.17 while the mean age of healthy children was 9 years, mean height=134±4.55 cm, mean weight=33.66±9.37 kg, and mean BMI=18±4.17. The results revealed significant differences between the two groups in kyphosis, lumbar scoliosis, and genu valgum (P= 0.001). But no significant difference was found between thoracic scoliosis, genu varum, lordosis, and flat foot between the two groups (P≥ 0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of kyphosis, lumbar scoliosis, and genu valgum was found to be high in children with ASDs, therefore, investigating the postural profile is strongly suggested in such individuals.