Background:To evaluate for hyperandrogenism in children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and correlate with severity of autism as measured by CARS score.

Methodology:32 children with ASD diagnosed according to DSM 5 criteria in age range of 7-12 years (mean age 8.5) and 23 healthy control population of similar age and sex were enrolled in the study. Quantitative measurement of serum testosterone and serum DHEAS was done using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) kit, and serum androstenedione using ELISA kit at Endocrinology lab, PGIMER. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Sexual maturity rating (SMR) were done for all cases and controls.

Results:

1. There were no significant differences in serum levels of testosterone, DHEAS and androstenedione in autism children compared to the control group.

2. Among children with autism, elevated serum levels of >95centile of lab reference range was seen for testosterone, DHEAS and androstenedione in 12.3 %, 6.2% and 9% respectively. However, these values were not statistically significant.

3. There was no statistically significant correlation between CARS score and serum levels of testosterone, DHEAS and androstenedione in autism children. However, in autism children with hyperandrogenism with androgen hormonal level >95centile of lab reference range, we found that 7 out of 9 children (78%) had severe autism with higher CARS scores.

Conclusion:In our study, we couldn’t find significant hyperandrogenism in autism children when compared to normal children of same age, sex and Tanner’s stage. Currently, we don’t have sufficient evidence to screen children with autism spectrum disorder for hyperandrogenism in Indian children.