Serum folate and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in pediatric autism spectrum disorder and their predictive role in illness severity

Table 1 Patients’ demographic information, n (%)

Data	Control group (n = 50)	Research group (n = 53)	t/χ2	P value
Gender			0.918	0.338
Male	32 (64.00)	29 (54.72)
Female	18 (36.00)	24 (45.28)
Age (years)	7.34 ± 1.57	7.06 ± 1.26	1.001	0.319
Disease duration (months)	5.88 ± 2.58	6.04 ± 2.85	0.298	0.766
Family genetic history			2.443	0.118
No	43 (86.00)	39 (73.58)
Yes	7 (14.00)	14 (26.42)
Severity
Mild to moderate	-	28 (52.83)
Severe	-	25 (47.17)
Father's personality			0.240	0.887
Introverted	15 (30.00)	17 (32.08)
Ambiverted	10 (20.00)	12 (22.64)
Extroverted	25 (50.00)	24 (45.28)
Mother's personality			0.404	0.817
Introverted	13 (26.00)	15 (28.30)
Ambiverted	20 (40.00)	18 (33.96)
Extroverted	17 (34.00)	20 (37.74)

For reference, parental personalities were evaluated through the Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire-revised designed for adults[23]. In this assessment, the E (extraversion-introversion) dimension grouped participants into introverted, ambiverted, or extroverted categories.

Table 2 Correlation between serum folate, brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and Childhood Autism Rating Scale scores in the research group

Indicators	CARS (points)
	r	P value
SF (nmol/L)	-0.345	0.011
BDNF (pg/mL)	0.389	0.004

SF: Serum folate; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; CARS: Childhood Autism Rating Scale.

Table 3 Predictive potential of serum folate and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in childhood autism spectrum disorder

Indicators	AUC	95%CI	P value	Sensitivity (%)	Specificity (%)	Cutoff
SF (nmol/L)	0.703	0.561-0.845	0.011	68.00	71.43	18.34
BDNF (pg/mL)	0.744	0.607-0.882	0.002	84.00	67.86	16.62
Joint detection	0.823	0.711-0.934	< 0.001	84.00	71.43	0.40

SF: Serum folate; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; AUC: Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

Table 4 Univariate assessment of autism spectrum disorder severity determinants in pediatric cases, n (%)

Variable	Mild-to-moderate (n = 28)	Severe (n = 25)	χ2	P value
Gender			0.533	0.465
Male	14 (50.00)	15 (60.00)
Female	14 (50.00)	10 (40.00)
Age (years)			2.672	0.102
< 7	14 (50.00)	18 (72.00)
≥ 7	14 (50.00)	7 (28.00)
Disease duration (months)			5.306	0.021
< 5	21 (75.00)	11 (44.00)
≥ 5	7 (25.00)	14 (56.00)
Family genetic history			0.759	0.384
No	22 (78.57)	17 (68.00)
Yes	6 (21.43)	8 (32.00)
Father's personality			5.731	0.057
Introverted	5 (17.86)	12 (48.00)
Ambiverted	7 (25.00)	5 (20.00)
Extroverted	16 (57.14)	8 (32.00)
Mother's personality			2.237	0.327
Introverted	6 (21.43)	9 (36.00)
Ambiverted	9 (32.14)	9 (36.00)
Extroverted	13 (46.43)	7 (28.00)
SF (nmol/L)			4.567	0.033
< 20	12 (42.86)	18 (72.00)
≥ 20	16 (57.14)	7 (28.00)
BDNF (pg/mL)			10.194	0.001
< 18	19 (67.86)	6 (24.00)
≥ 18	9 (32.14)	19 (76.00)

SF: Serum folate; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

Table 5 Multivariate regression modeling for childhood autism spectrum disorder prognostic factors

Variable	β	SE	Wald	P value	OR	95%CI
Disease duration (months)	-0.465	0.688	0.457	0.499	0.628	0.163-2.420
SF (nmol/L)	-1.740	0.760	5.244	0.022	0.175	0.040-0.778
BDNF (pg/mL)	2.317	0.749	9.574	0.002	10.147	2.338-44.031

SF: Serum folate; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor.