Increased cerebral lactate levels in adults with autism spectrum disorders compared to non-autistic controls: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Table 1 Demographic, Psychometric, and Medication Data for ASD and NTC Groups

Characteristic	ASD, N = 64¹	NTC, N = 58^a	p value^b
Sex			0.3
Female	22 (34%)	25 (43%)
Male	42 (66%)	33 (57%)
Age	36 ± 11.8	32 ± 9.6	0.2
BDI-II	15.5 ± 13.0	4.2 ± 4.8	< 0.001
AQ	35.7 ± 8.1	12.1 ± 5.7	< 0.001
EQ	21.0 ± 10.3	47.1 ± 11.0	< 0.001
SRS-2	108.4 ± 28.7	34.3 ± 14.5	< 0.001
WURS-k	26.9 ± 16.0	13.6 ± 10.5	< 0.001
IQ	115 ± 14.5	113 ± 12.6	0.6
STAI	23.7 ± 10.3	11.2 ± 6.0	< 0.001
Typical antipsychotics	2 (3.1%)	0 (0%)	0.5
Atypical antipsychotics	6 (9.4%)	0 (0%)	0.029
SNRI/SSRI	15 (23%)	0 (0%)	< 0.001
Other antidepressants	15 (23%)	0 (0%)	< 0.001
Lithium	2 (3.1%)	0 (0%)	0.5
Stimulants	4 (6.3%)	0 (0%)	0.12
Anticonvulsant	1 (1.6%)	0 (0%)	> 0.9
Benzodiazepines (standby)	2 (3.1%)	0 (0%)	0.5
Oral contraceptives	2 (3.1%)	4 (6.9%)	0.4

SRS-2 Social Responsiveness Scale, AQ Autism Spectrum Quotient, EQ Empathy Quotient, BDI-II Beck Depression Inventory, WURS-k Wender Utah Rating Scale, STAI State Anxiety Inventory, SNRI serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, SSRI selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
Significance levels: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001
^an (%); Mean ± SD
^bFisher’s exact test, two-sample t test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test

ISSN: 2040-2392