IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i4p409-d95670.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Differential Gender Effects in the Relationship between Perceived Immune Functioning and Autistic Traits

Author

Listed:
  • Marlou Mackus

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Deborah De Kruijff

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Leila S. Otten

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Aletta D. Kraneveld

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Johan Garssen

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Nutricia Research, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Joris C. Verster

    (Division of Pharmacology, Utrecht University, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University, Melbourne 3122, Australia)

Abstract

Altered immune functioning has been demonstrated in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study explores the relationship between perceived immune functioning and experiencing ASD traits in healthy young adults. N = 410 students from Utrecht University completed a survey on immune functioning and autistic traits. In addition to a 1-item perceived immune functioning rating, the Immune Function Questionnaire (IFQ) was completed to assess perceived immune functioning. The Dutch translation of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) was completed to examine variation in autistic traits, including the domains “social insights and behavior”, “difficulties with change”, “communication”, “phantasy and imagination”, and “detail orientation”. The 1-item perceived immune functioning score did not significantly correlate with the total AQ score. However, a significant negative correlation was found between perceived immune functioning and the AQ subscale “difficulties with change” (r = −0.119, p = 0.019). In women, 1-item perceived immune functioning correlated significantly with the AQ subscales “difficulties with change” (r = −0.149, p = 0.029) and “communication” (r = −0.145, p = 0.032). In men, none of the AQ subscales significantly correlated with 1-item perceived immune functioning. In conclusion, a modest relationship between perceived immune functioning and several autistic traits was found.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlou Mackus & Deborah De Kruijff & Leila S. Otten & Aletta D. Kraneveld & Johan Garssen & Joris C. Verster, 2017. "Differential Gender Effects in the Relationship between Perceived Immune Functioning and Autistic Traits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-6, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:4:p:409-:d:95670
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/4/409/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/4/409/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donna M. Werling & Neelroop N. Parikshak & Daniel H. Geschwind, 2016. "Gene expression in human brain implicates sexually dimorphic pathways in autism spectrum disorders," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aurora J. A. E. Van de Loo & Marlou Mackus & Marith Van Schrojenstein Lantman & Aletta D. Kraneveld & Karel A. Brookhuis & Johan Garssen & Andrew Scholey & Joris C. Verster, 2018. "Susceptibility to Alcohol Hangovers: The Association with Self-Reported Immune Status," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Livia J. F. Wilod Versprille & Aurora J. A. E. van de Loo & Marlou Mackus & Lizanne Arnoldy & Titia A. L. Sulzer & Sterre A. Vermeulen & Smedra Abdulahad & Hendrikje Huls & Ton Baars & Andrew Scholey , 2019. "Development and Validation of the Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-18, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hyosang Kim & Doyoun Kim & Yisul Cho & Kyungdeok Kim & Junyeop Daniel Roh & Yangsik Kim & Esther Yang & Seong Soon Kim & Sunjoo Ahn & Hyun Kim & Hyojin Kang & Yongchul Bae & Eunjoon Kim, 2022. "Early postnatal serotonin modulation prevents adult-stage deficits in Arid1b-deficient mice through synaptic transcriptional reprogramming," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:4:p:409-:d:95670. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.