Heightened sensitivity to sensory information has been associated with food fussiness in both atypical and typical development. Despite food fussiness and sensory dysfunction being reported as common concerns for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, the relationship that exists between them, and whether they differ between disorders, has yet to be established. The current study aimed to examine sensory sensitivity as a predictor of food fussiness in three different neurodevelopmental disorders, whilst controlling for comorbidity amongst these disorders. Ninety-eight caregivers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; n = 17), Tourette Syndrome (TS; n = 27), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; n = 27), and typical development (TD; n = 27) were compared using parental reports of child food fussiness, food preferences and sensory sensitivity. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders were reported to have significantly higher levels of both food fussiness and sensory sensitivity, with children with ASD and TS also showing significantly less preference for fruit than children with TD. Importantly, higher levels of taste/smell sensitivity predicted food fussiness for all four groups of children. In addition, taste/smell sensitivity fully mediated the differences in food fussiness between each group of neurodevelopmental disorders compared to the TD group. The findings highlight that food fussiness is similar across these neurodevelopmental disorders despite accounting for comorbidity, and that greater sensitivity to taste/smell may explain why children with neurodevelopmental disorders are more likely to be fussy eaters.

中文翻译：

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神经发育障碍儿童感官敏感性、食物挑剔与食物偏好的关系

对感官信息的高度敏感性与非典型和典型发育中的食物挑剔有关。尽管食物挑剔和感觉功能障碍被报告为神经发育障碍儿童的常见问题，但它们之间存在的关系以及它们在不同疾病之间是否存在差异尚待确定。目前的研究旨在检查感觉敏感性作为三种不同神经发育障碍中食物挑剔的预测指标，同时控制这些障碍之间的共病。九十八名患有注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD；n = 17)、图雷特综合症 (TS；n = 27)、自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD；n = 27) 和典型发育 (TD；n = 27) 的儿童的照顾者使用父母对儿童食物挑剔的报告进行比较，食物偏好和感官敏感性。据报道，患有神经发育障碍的儿童在食物挑剔和感官敏感性方面都显着提高，ASD 和 TS 儿童对水果的偏好也明显低于 TD 儿童。重要的是，更高水平的味觉/嗅觉敏感性预测了所有四组儿童的食物挑剔。此外，与 TD 组相比，味觉/嗅觉敏感性完全介导了每组神经发育障碍之间食物挑剔的差异。研究结果强调，尽管考虑了合并症，但这些神经发育障碍的食物挑剔是相似的，并且对味觉/嗅觉的更高敏感性可以解释为什么患有神经发育障碍的儿童更容易挑食。据报道，患有神经发育障碍的儿童在食物挑剔和感官敏感性方面都显着提高，ASD 和 TS 儿童对水果的偏好也明显低于 TD 儿童。重要的是，更高水平的味觉/嗅觉敏感性预测了所有四组儿童的食物挑剔。此外，与 TD 组相比，味觉/嗅觉敏感性完全介导了每组神经发育障碍之间食物挑剔的差异。研究结果强调，尽管考虑了合并症，但这些神经发育障碍的食物挑剔是相似的，并且对味觉/嗅觉的更高敏感性可以解释为什么患有神经发育障碍的儿童更容易挑食。据报道，患有神经发育障碍的儿童在食物挑剔和感官敏感性方面都明显更高，患有 ASD 和 TS 的儿童对水果的偏好也明显低于 TD 儿童。重要的是，更高水平的味觉/嗅觉敏感性预测了所有四组儿童的食物挑剔。此外，与 TD 组相比，味觉/嗅觉敏感性完全介导了每组神经发育障碍之间食物挑剔的差异。研究结果强调，尽管考虑了合并症，但这些神经发育障碍的食物挑剔是相似的，并且对味觉/嗅觉的更高敏感性可以解释为什么患有神经发育障碍的儿童更容易挑食。