Shared familial transmission of autism spectrum and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorders

Abstract

Background To determine whether familial transmission is shared between autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, we assessed the prevalence, rates of comorbidity, and familial transmission of both disorders in a large population-based sample of children during a recent seven year period. Methods Study participants included all children born to parents with the Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) Health Plan between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2004 (n = 35,073). Children and mothers with physician-identified autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were identified via electronic medical records maintained for all KPNW members. Results Among children aged 6-12 years, prevalence was 2.0% for ADHD and 0.8% for ASD; within those groups, 0.2% of the full sample (19% of the ASD sample and 9.6% of the ADHD sample) had co-occurring ASD and ADHD, when all children were included. When mothers had a diagnosis of ADHD, first born offspring were at 6-fold risk of ADHD alone (OR=5.02, p<0.0001) and at 2.5-fold risk of ASD alone (OR=2.52, p<0.01). Results were not accounted for by maternal age, child gestational age, child gender, and child race. Conclusions ASD shares familial transmission with ADHD. ADHD and ASD have a partially overlapping diathesis.

Poverty and the Growth of Emotional and Conduct Problems in Children with Autism With and Without Comorbid ADHD

“…Prevalence of (parentreported diagnosis of) ADHD, by contrast, is low (1.4%) in MCS compared to almost 10% among 3-17 year-olds in the US (Bloom, Jones, & Freeman, 2013). In our study, 19.9% of the MCS 7-year-olds with ASD also had ADHD, in line with recent findings about rates in childhood ASD+ADHD co-diagnosis in non-UK population-based samples (Musser et al, 2014). Second, the severity of autism in our sample was unknown.…”

Variation in Parasympathetic Dysregulation Moderates Short-term Memory Problems in Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…A recent review cites evidence for low baseline or resting RSA among children with ADHD (Rash and Aguirre-Camacho 2012). Additionally, children with ADHD exhibit blunted RSA reactivity to both cognitive (Negrao et al 2011) and emotionally challenging tasks (Musser et al 2011, 2014). However, differences in RSA reactivity appear to vary according to type of task utilized, with some studies showing PNS hypo-reactivity and others showing PNS hyper-reactivity in ADHD (Rash and Aguirre-Camacho 2012).…”

Decreased levels of serum oxytocin in pediatric patients with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…These behaviors and disorders are similar to the symptoms of ADHD. Furthermore, it is suggested that ASD shares familial transmission with ADHD, and that ADHD and ASD share a partially overlapping diathesis (Musser et al, 2014). Based on these evidences, we hypothesized that serum levels of OXT in patients with ADHD are lowered than normal controls.…”