How Prevalent Are Autistic Traits Among Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? A Qualitative Review of the Literature

Twin, family, and linkage studies have indicated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) share a portion of their heritable etiology. This suggests that individuals with ADHD may manifest different forms of ASDs that may range from fully developed syndromic forms of the disorder to milder manifestations of ASD symptomatology, which will henceforth be referred to as autistic traits.The main purpose of this study was to conduct a literature search to examine the current body of knowledge regarding the prevalence of autistic traits (operationalized as the presence of autistic symptoms in the absence of a diagnosis of ASD) among children with ADHD and the associated morbidity of such traits.A systematic literature search in PubMed was conducted to discover all controlled studies published in the English language that systematically assessed the presence of autistic traits in children with ADHD who did not meet the criteria for ASDs. Three articles met our inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this qualitative review.Only three scientific papers that met our a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified. These articles described findings obtained from clinical samples and identified a prevalence of autistic traits among children with ADHD that ranged from 7% to 60%. As compared with children with ADHD without these traits, the presence of autistic traits in children with ADHD was associated with more severe dysfunction in a wide range of non-overlapping domains and in the social and communication domains in particular.Although this study was limited by the small amount of available literature about this subject, these findings suggest that a sizeable subset of children with ADHD manifest autistic traits and that the presence of these traits is associated with increased dysfunction and social and communication deficits

Are Autistic Traits in Youth Meaningful? A Replication study in Non-referred Siblings of Youth with and without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: We previously described the high prevalence and burden of significant autistic traits (ATs) in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These traits are associated with significantly greater impairment in psychopathological, interpersonal, educational, and neuropsychological functioning. Because the sample consisted of referred ADHD youth, uncertainty remained regarding whether these findings are generalizable to non-referred populations of youths with and without ADHD. Objective: The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence and implications of ATs in a non-referred population of siblings of probands with and without ADHD. Method: Participants were non-referred siblings of probands with ADHD (N = 257) and control probands (N = 234) of longitudinal, case-control family studies conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital. Assessments included measures of psychiatric, psychosocial, educational, and cognitive functioning. The presence of significant ATs was operationalized using the Child Behavior Checklist AT profile, which consists of combined aggregate T-scores of ≥ 195 on the Withdrawn, Social, and Thought Problems subscales. Results: ATs were significantly more prevalent among the siblings of probands with ADHD as compared with siblings of control probands (6% vs. 1%; P = .02). Siblings of probands with ADHD with a positive AT profile (N = 15) were significantly more impaired than those without an AT profile (N = 242) with regard to psychopathological, interpersonal, educational, and neuropsychological functioning. Conclusions: The current study reports a higher-than-expected prevalence of ATs in a non-referred sample of siblings of youth with ADHD, which is consistent with previous findings regarding ATs in a referred sample of youth with ADHD. The presence of ATs is associated with higher levels of morbidity and dysfunction

Further Evidence of an Association Between a Positive Child Behavior Checklist-Bipolar Profile and a Diagnosis of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: A Meta-Analysis

Previous research has found that a unique profile of the Child Behavior Checklist comprising of aggregate elevations of the Attention, Anxiety/Depression and Aggression scales (A-A-A profile, CBCL-Bipolar (BP) profile, CBCL-Dysregulation profile (DP); henceforth CBCL-BP/DP profile) is associated with a clinical diagnosis of pediatric bipolar (BP) disorder

How Prevalent Are Autistic Traits Among Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? A Qualitative Review of the Literature

Background: Twin, family, and linkage studies have indicated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) share a portion of their heritable etiology. This suggests that individuals with ADHD may manifest different forms of ASDs that may range from fully developed syndromic forms of the disorder to milder manifestations of ASD symptomatology, which will henceforth be referred to as autistic traits