TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations between autistic traits and early ear and upper respiratory signs: a prospective observational study of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) geographically defined childhood population
AU - Hall, Amanda
AU - Maw, Richard
AU - Iles-Caven, Yasmin
AU - Gregory, Steven
AU - Rai, Dheeraj
AU - Jean, Golding
N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2023/4/24
Y1 - 2023/4/24
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether early ear and upper respiratory signs are associated with the development of high levels of autistic traits or diagnosed autism. DESIGN: Longitudinal birth cohort: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). SETTING: Area centred on the city of Bristol in Southwest England. Eligible pregnant women resident in the area with expected date of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992 inclusive. PARTICIPANTS: 10 000+ young children followed throughout their first 4 years. Their mothers completed three questionnaires between 18-42 months recording the frequency of nine different signs and symptoms relating to the upper respiratory system, as well as ear and hearing problems. OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary-high levels of autism traits (social communication, coherent speech, sociability, and repetitive behaviour); secondary-diagnosed autism. RESULTS: Early evidence of mouth breathing, snoring, pulling/poking ears, ears going red, hearing worse during a cold, and rarely listening were associated with high scores on each autism trait and with a diagnosis of autism. There was also evidence of associations of pus or sticky mucus discharge from ears, especially with autism and with poor coherent speech. Adjustment for 10 environmental characteristics made little difference to the results, and substantially more adjusted associations were at p<0.001 than expected by chance (41 observed; 0.01 expected). For example, for discharge of pus or sticky mucus from ears the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for autism at 30 months was 3.29 (95% CI 1.85 to 5.86, p<0.001), and for impaired hearing during a cold the aOR was 2.18 (95% CI 1.43 to 3.31, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Very young children exhibiting common ear and upper respiratory signs appear to have an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of autism or demonstrated high levels of autism traits. Results suggest the need for identification and management of ear, nose and throat conditions in autistic children and may provide possible indicators of causal mechanisms.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To determine whether early ear and upper respiratory signs are associated with the development of high levels of autistic traits or diagnosed autism. DESIGN: Longitudinal birth cohort: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). SETTING: Area centred on the city of Bristol in Southwest England. Eligible pregnant women resident in the area with expected date of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992 inclusive. PARTICIPANTS: 10 000+ young children followed throughout their first 4 years. Their mothers completed three questionnaires between 18-42 months recording the frequency of nine different signs and symptoms relating to the upper respiratory system, as well as ear and hearing problems. OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary-high levels of autism traits (social communication, coherent speech, sociability, and repetitive behaviour); secondary-diagnosed autism. RESULTS: Early evidence of mouth breathing, snoring, pulling/poking ears, ears going red, hearing worse during a cold, and rarely listening were associated with high scores on each autism trait and with a diagnosis of autism. There was also evidence of associations of pus or sticky mucus discharge from ears, especially with autism and with poor coherent speech. Adjustment for 10 environmental characteristics made little difference to the results, and substantially more adjusted associations were at p<0.001 than expected by chance (41 observed; 0.01 expected). For example, for discharge of pus or sticky mucus from ears the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for autism at 30 months was 3.29 (95% CI 1.85 to 5.86, p<0.001), and for impaired hearing during a cold the aOR was 2.18 (95% CI 1.43 to 3.31, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Very young children exhibiting common ear and upper respiratory signs appear to have an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of autism or demonstrated high levels of autism traits. Results suggest the need for identification and management of ear, nose and throat conditions in autistic children and may provide possible indicators of causal mechanisms.
KW - Autistic Disorder
KW - Child
KW - Child, Preschool
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Longitudinal Studies
KW - Parents
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Prospective Studies
KW - Suppuration
UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e067682
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85153687644&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067682
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067682
M3 - Article
C2 - 37094879
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 13
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 3
M1 - e067682
ER -