Plasma anandamide concentrations are lower in children with autism spectrum disorder

Table 1 Participant characteristics

Demographics	Control children	Children with ASD
N	53	59
Female	20	14
Male	33	45
Age	7.13 ± 2.96	8.25 ± 2.67*
Full-scale IQ	115.49 ± 9.51	83.24 ± 28.37*
Full-scale IQ range	92–134	50–140
N cases with IQ < 70	0	17
N cases of psychotropic medication use	0	29
Ethnicity
Asian	6	11
Caucasian	38	35
Other	9	13

Values in the table are reported as arithmetic means ± standard deviation. The χ² likelihood ratio was used to examine whether the distribution of individuals in the two groups differed by sex and by ethnicity; no significant effects were found (sex, χ²(1) = 2.60, p = 0.107; ethnicity, χ²(2) = 2.03, p = 0.363). Welch’s unequal variances t test was used to test for differences in age and full-scale IQ between groups (* = p < 0.05). Significant group differences were observed for both measures (age, t(105.4) = 2.09, p = 0.039; IQ, t(72.2) = 8.23, p < 0.0001) and therefore were used as blocking variables in the analysis
Abbreviations: ASD autism spectrum disorder, IQ intelligence quotient

ISSN: 2040-2392