Formerly Ibrahim Medical College Journal
Affiliations: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Applied Health Sciences (IAHS), Chattogram, Bangladesh
Affiliations: Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Bangladesh Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Affiliations: Department of Biochemistry, Shaheed Monsur Ali Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Background and objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently co-occurs with mitochondrial dysfunction and with restrictive, selective eating. Both may raise serum creatinine. We assessed serum creatinine and urea in Bangladeshi children with ASD. Dietary protein intake was examined as a possible driver of any difference.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study ran from July 2019 to June 2020 at Dhaka Medical College. We enrolled 30 ASD children (Group A) and 30 matched healthy controls (Group B), aged 5–18 years. Serum creatinine, urea and blood glucose were measured on a Dimension EXL-200 analyzer. Dietary protein intake was estimated from parent-interview food frequency data using the Food Composition Table for Bangladesh. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 20.0 was used for analysis; p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Mean serum creatinine was significantly higher in Group A (0.74 ± 0.22 vs. 0.51 ± 0.13 mg/dl; p<0.001). This exceeded the pediatric reference range. Serum urea (p=0.180) and blood glucose (p=0.657) did not differ. ASD children consumed fish and eggs more frequently (p=0.032 and p=0.041). Mean protein intake was 58.4 ± 12.3 g/day. This exceeded the recommended safe allowance per kilogram. Dietary protein correlated strongly with serum creatinine in Group A (r=0.70; p<0.001; R²=0.49). Socioeconomic profiles were comparable (p=0.287).
Conclusion: Serum creatinine was significantly higher in Bangladeshi ASD children than in matched controls and exceeded the pediatric reference range, whereas serum urea and blood glucose were unchanged. The creatinine elevation was strongly correlated with a higher dietary protein intake from preferred fish and egg consumption. Routine serum creatinine monitoring and dietary counseling should be integrated into the standard clinical management of children with ASD.
July 2026; Vol. 20(2):004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55010/imcjms.20.013
*Correspondence: Asma Sultana Riya, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Applied Health Sciences (IAHS), Chattogram, Bangladesh Email: asmariya007@gmail.com.
© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License(CC BY 4.0)
