The Association of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Symptoms of Asthma, Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis and Eczema among Japanese Children Aged 3 - 6 Years

Abstract

There is insufficient epidemiological evidence on the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and allergic diseases. We performed a cross-sectional survey to elucidate the associations between them using validated screening tools. The participants were children aged 3 -6 years attending kindergarten or nursery school in Shika Town, Japan (n = 417; valid response rate = 80.4%). Autism spectrum features were scored on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Allergic symptoms (asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema) were determined according to the criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. A total of 15 children (4.5%) had an SCQ score of 11 points or higher. The prevalence of symptoms was 14.7% for asthma, and 5.3% for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and 11.4% for eczema. Logistic regression indicated that symptoms of eczema were significantly associated with SCQ scores of 11 points or higher [odds ratio (OR), 4.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.41 -13.59]. The association persisted after adjustment for age, sex, and BMI (OR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.20 -12.24). Moreover, asthmatic symptoms were significantly associated with male sex (OR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.12 -3.92) and overweight status (OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1. 03 -5.83). This suggests that higher SCQ scores, which imply more autism spectrum features, are associated with higher prevalence of eczema symptoms. While no causal relationships can be made, ASD might be associated with How to cite this paper:

Early childhood allergy linked with development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder

“…Most previous studies investigated the association of a single allergic disorder, [15][16][17][31][32][33][34][35] or up to three allergic comorbidities, 14,23,24,26,30,36,37 and ADHD/ASD. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first study which enrolled children with up to six allergic comorbidities (Table 1) including drug allergy that was not previously studied.…”

“…Furthermore, as was reported for allergic disorders, 2 genetic and environmental factors were shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of ADHD and ASD 10–13 . Indeed, several studies did investigate the association between allergic disorders and ADHD and/or ASD with controversial results 14–26 . Differences in size of the studies, follow‐up period, and diagnostic criteria, which were used in the various studies as well as the specific types of allergic disorders that were investigated, are most probably the causes for the conflicting reports.…”

Early Childhood Allergy Linked With Development of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Most previous studies investigated the association of a single allergic disorder, [15][16][17][29][30][31][32][33] or up to three allergic comorbidities, 14,23,24,26,28,34,35 and ADHD/ASD. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first study which enrolled children with up to six allergic comorbidities (Table 1) including drug allergy that was not previously studied.…”

“…Several previous studies did not find significant association between allergic disorders and the development of ADHD 15,17 or ASD, 25,29 . However, most studies that were done in different parts of the world provide evidence for high risk of pediatric allergic patients to develop ADHD 17,24,28,[30][31][32] or ASD 14,17,23,28,32 regardless to the ethnicity of the enrolled patients. A meta-analysis by Schans et al, 26 reported that asthma, rhinitis, and eczema were independent risk factors for ADHD development which is similar to our observation.…”

“…[10][11][12][13] Indeed, several studies did investigate the association between allergic disorders and ADHD and/or ASD with controversial results. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Differences in size of the studies, follow-up period and diagnostic criteria which were used in the various studies as well as the specific types of allergic disorders that were investigated are most probably the causes for the conflicting reports.…”