Autism and Medical Comorbidities

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at an increased risk for medical comorbidities which often remain undetected and negatively impact their developmental progress. These include gastrointestinal disorders, oral health problems, sleep disorders, and epilepsy. Greater awareness and treatment of these comorbidities are essential to improve the quality of life and sometimes ASD symptoms. While inborn errors of metabolism should not typically be considered a comorbidity in ASD, they should not be neglected as a possible etiology of ASD in some very rare situations of syndromic autism with associated features. © 2015 S. Karger AG, BaselAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are lifelong and are associated with higher rates of medical comorbidities than in the general population. These problems include: gastrointestinal (GI) disturbance [1]; oral health problems [2]; an increased risk of respiratory, food, and skin allergies [3]; sleep disorders [4], and epilepsy [5, 6]. Many medical conditions appear early, sometimes preceding the diagnosis of ASD, and can continue into adulthood, requiring specialized care [7]. Typically, the medical comorbidities should be viewed as accompanying clinical features as opposed to representations of the etiology of ASD. Conversely, in some rare situations, inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) may be the cause of ASD. The relationship between IEM and ASD will be discussed.Despite higher rates of medical care use compared to the general pediatric population [3,8,9], patients and families experience challenges accessing specialized health care [10,11]. The unmet needs tend to be higher in nonmetropolitan areas, among patients with limited or no insurance or a lower family income, and among minority families [11]. The additive impact of medical comorbidities in ASD can be linked to higher financial stressors for families in relation to costs and the time needed to meet

Strategies for Research, Practice, and Policy for Autism in Later Life: A Report from a Think Tank on Aging and Autism

“…Such challenges likely impact overall impact experience, well-being, autonomy, life skills, and much more. Further, many autistic individuals grapple with co-occurring medical and behavioral health conditions (Ghaziuddin et al 2002;Schiff and Asato 2015;Underwood et al 2019); thus, inviting further focused study on autism and aging.…”