الفهرس 
Review of LiteratureOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has increased in
prevalence over the past several years. Children with ASD are at a
high risk of suboptimal bone development due to the use of
certain medications. This is because, these medications interfere
with bone metabolism. They include, antipsychotics,
anticonvulsants, antiepileptics and systemic corticosteroids.
In addition to their poor dietary habits of food selectivity,
refusal and sensory aversion, limited exposure to sunlight and
decrease in physical activity have been found to have a great
effect on bone mineral density. Moreover, increased fracture risk
is also a major consequence of low bone mineral density.
The major goal of the present study is to investigate the
effect of antipsychotic medications and medical supplements on
bone mineral density in ASD children.
The current study included 36 children who were diagnosed
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (31 boys and 5 girls). Their ages
were ranging from 3 – 9 years.
The results obtained from the conducted study showed that
antipsychotic medications and medical supplements have had an
effect on bone mineral density. They have caused osteopenia in
majority of the cases.The results of DEXA scan of the whole body have showed
that 72.2% of autistic children had osteopenia. The DEXA lumbar
spine scan showed that 80.6% children had osteopenia, while
DEXA hip scan showed 58.1%.
Despite that the results must be interpreted with caution due
to the small number of the sample, it still indicated that
antipsychotic medications had an effect on bone mineral density
resulting in osteopenia.