Characteristics of the autism spectrum disorder gastrointestinal and related behaviors inventory in children.

The study did not compare the questionnaire with a gold-standard medical assessment of gastrointestinal disorders; it used parent-reported diagnoses. Parent-reported diagnoses may underestimate true gastrointestinal disorders because of under-evaluation and under-diagnosis. The psychometric analysis was done only for children aged 6 to 17 years, so the factor structure and item performance are not established for children aged 3 to 5 years. The response rate was 23%, and participants came from a single research registry, so the sample may not represent children with autism spectrum disorder. Recruitment named autism gastrointestinal symptoms. Families with more frequent or severe gastrointestinal symptoms may have been more likely to participate, so prevalence estimates are not representative. Parents often lacked confidence in assessing their child's gastrointestinal pain. Among parents of children aged 6 to 17 years, 12% were not confident at all and 26% were slightly confident. The screener was designed for sensitivity, so low specificity means it may produce false positives and unnecessary concern or evaluation. The mealtime and dietary factors were not associated with parent-reported gastrointestinal diagnoses, so food selectivity or mealtime behavior alone should not be treated as evidence of a gastrointestinal disorder.

The supplied text lists National Institute of Mental Health funding and NIH extramural research support. No company funding, sponsor design of the study, or author conflicts of interest are stated.

Do not treat food selectivity or mealtime disruption as proof of a gastrointestinal disorder. The bowel pain, abdominal pain, and constipation or encopresis factors were linked to parent-reported gastrointestinal diagnoses, but the food and mealtime factors were not. The screener also could flag many children without a diagnosed gastrointestinal disorder.