Young children with common ear, nose and throat (ENT) disorders may be at increased risk of autism or have high levels of detectable autistic traits, according to a study published online in the open-access journal BMJ Open. The researchers say that early detection and treatment of ENT conditions could improve the quality of life of these children and potentially help shed light on some of the origins of autism.
The causes of autism likely involve an interplay of genetic, environmental and biological factors, and the origins of each autistic trait may also differ, the researchers noted. Previous research suggests that ENT conditions, such as ear infections, ‘glue ear’ and sleep-disordered breathing may play a role in the development of autism. But much of this evidence is based on health records, which may bias these findings, as parents of children with suspected autism are more likely than other parents to seek medical help for their children, the researchers found. Explain to
To avoid this, the researchers drew on participants in the Longitudinal Children’s Study of the 90s, also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). It has tracked the health of more than 14,000 children since birth and their parents since the early 1990s. The current study is based on comprehensive data from more than 10,000 young children who were followed closely during their first 4 years. When their children were 18, 30, and 42 months old, their mothers completed 3 questionnaires to record the frequency of nine different ear, nose, and throat signs and symptoms, as well as any hearing problems. was designed for.
They also completed 3 questionnaires when their children were about 6 and 9 years old, over 3 years. These were designed to indicate speech coherence, social and communication issues, repetitive and unusual behavior, and sociability, traits that are characteristic of autism. The diagnosis of autism was confirmed by educational records and parental feedback, among other sources. Adjustments were made for 10 potentially influential ‘environmental’ factors: early or late birth; gender; the number of previous pregnancies of the mother that resulted in the birth of a live or stillborn infant; Feeding The Beast; postpartum depression; Mother’s educational achievements; maternal smoking at 18 weeks pregnant; the mother’s belief in her own agency; child’s exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at 15 months; Child’s attendance at crèche/other daycare till the age of 30 months.
Overall, 177 children had a probable diagnosis of autism: 139 boys and 38 girls. People with autism traits were defined as the 10% of the sample with the highest trait scores. Early evidence of mouth breathing, snoring, ear pulling or poking, redness and sore throat, worse hearing during a cold, and hearing rarely were associated with higher scores on each of all 4 autism symptoms. , and with a diagnosis of autism. Pus or sticky discharge from the ears was also associated with autism and poorly coherent speech. In tests at different ages, particularly strong associations were observed when the child was 30 and 42 months of age. Children with higher scores on autistic symptoms had more ENT indications at 30 months. Autism itself was significantly associated with all symptoms except for sleep apnea symptoms.
Factoring in the 10 environmental characteristics made little difference to the results. For example, children who have discharge from their ears are more than 3 times as likely to have autism, while those with impaired hearing during a cold are more than twice as likely to do so. And children who failed to react to surrounding noises were more than 6 times as likely to develop autism at this age. However, the researchers point out:
** “These ENT signs and symptoms are very common in childhood and most children who experience them are not diagnosed with autism. For example, in a group of nearly 1700 children who snored at 30 months of age , most (1660) were not diagnosed with autism until later. , limiting the broad applicability of the findings. What’s more, children were not consistently screened to determine a diagnosis of autism; instead, strategy of estimating the likelihood of a diagnosis using different sources was used. But they nevertheless conclude that the association they found “may be significant because (1) these ear and respiratory signs may be associated with an increased risk of autism.” may be early markers of autism, (2) they may inform the origins of autism, or (3) they may uncover co-occurring conditions that, if treated, lead to a better quality of life for children with autism Might.”
They say: “This study adds to the evidence that early ear and upper respiratory symptoms are more common in people later diagnosed with autism or with extreme levels of autistic symptoms, compared to a typical population of the same age. ” But they caution: “It is not possible to determine whether these ENT conditions have a contributing role in the development of autistic symptoms or are related to an unknown factor.” One possibility, for example, could be the result of an increased prevalence of minor physical anomalies in individuals. With autism, including anatomical differences in ear structure and/or position, such differences in ear morphology increase the risk of ENT conditions.”