MedPage Today (12/10, George) reports, “Having an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) “raised the risk of being diagnosed with either condition,” research indicated. In the study that “included 730 younger siblings of children with” AD/HD, “158 younger siblings of children with autism, and 14,287 younger siblings of children with no known diagnosis of either disorder,” investigators found that youngsters “whose older brother or sister had autism were 30 times more likely to receive an autism diagnosis and 3.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with” AD/HD “than children whose older sibling did not have either disorder.” The findings were published online Dec. 10 in JAMA Pediatrics.
According to Psychiatric News (12/10), the authors of an accompanying editorial wrote, “[This study] used a simple and transparent design to report novel data on later-born within- and cross-condition recurrence of ASD and” AD/HD “in a way that is useful in the clinic but also motivates research to understand how and why these conditions commonly co-occur both within individuals and within families.” HealthDay(12/10, Thompson) also covers the study.
Related Links:
— “Older Sibling with Autism or ADHD Ups Risk for Younger Kids, “Judy George, MedPage Today, December 10, 2018.