Abstract | This study investigated potential correlation between the inflammatory marker, Calprotectin, and a S.O.S questionnaire from forty-nine Autistic children. Symptom and behavioral questionnaires were completed contemporaneously with stool sample collection. Mixed Model data analysis showed strong correlation between some questionnaire parameters and Calprotectin. ‘Need for a fixed routine’ was highly significantly correlated with Calprotectin (𝑝<0.00009) with Multivariate Coefficient of 3.227, whilst paradoxically ‘constipation’ indicated significant change (𝑝<0.02) with negative Multivariate Coefficient (-1.584). The negative ‘constipation’ appears to associate with the positive ‘need for a fixed routine’ indicating possibility of reciprocal, independent prediction of gastrointestinal inflammation. Results suggest that ‘need for a fixed routine’ and ‘constipation’ be included in a screening questionnaire as independent predictors of bowel dysfunction in these children. |
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