Brief Report: Physical Activity, Body Mass Index and Arterial Stiffness in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Findings

We examined the association between physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI) and novel measures of subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 15 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (mean age 7 ± 2 years, 2 girls). PA was objectively assessed using accelerometry as time spent in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Arterial stiffness was measured via aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and taken as a marker of subclinical CVD risk. MVPA was inversely associated with aortic PWV (r = − 0.46, p OpenSPiltSPi 0.05). BMI percentile was positively associated with aortic PWV (r = 0.61, p OpenSPiltSPi 0.05). Overall findings suggest that reduced PA and higher body mass in children with ASD are associated with increased arterial stiffness which may have a detrimental impact on overall cardiovascular health.