A comparative study on medical comorbidities among children with autism spectrum disorder and controls in a children’s hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, in which medical disorders are known to occur higher than in the general paediatric population. This may indicate either that the neurodevelopmental disorder is acting as a risk factor or sharing a common pathophysiological mechanism with the medical disorder. We could not access any publications focusing on medical comorbidities in autism from Sri Lanka. Objective:To compare the prevalence and types of medical comorbidities between children with ASD and outpatient controls presenting to a children's hospital in Sri Lanka. Method:This was an observational analytical study using a case control design. Seventy three consecutive new enrolments diagnosed as ASD at the child psychiatric services of Lady Ridgeway Hospital were recruited to the study group. An age and gender matched group of children presenting to the outpatient department with minor physical problems were recruited as the comparison group. The presence of a medical disorder was determined retrospectively by perusal of medical records. Results:The prevalence of febrile seizures, epilepsy, bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis and recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms in the child were higher in the ASD group compared to the control group. The differences of the rates between groups for bronchial asthma and recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms were statistically significant. Also, pregnancy induced hypertension _________________________________________

Pharmacological treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

“…Several medical comorbidities are also more common in individuals with ASD, such as epilepsy and gastrointestinal symptoms (Chandradasa et al, 2017). AEDs may be effective in managing seizures in this population; however, children with developmental disabilities may be at increased risk of negative side effects of these medications.…”

Maternal risk factors vary between subpopulations of children with autism spectrum disorder

“…Current research has identified maternal risk factors for ASD in conjunction with certain COCs. Recurrent maternal GI issues, hypertension during pregnancy, and gestational diabetes were found to significantly increase the risk of ASD and GI disorders (Chandradasa et al, 2017). Maternal psychiatric disorders have been found to be directly and in‐directly associated with a diagnosis of ASD and epilepsy (Ekinci et al, 2010; Jokiranta et al, 2014).…”