JAMA: Gastrointestinal symptoms reported by mothers were more common and
more often persistent in the first three years of life in children with
autism spectrum disorder than in children with typical development and
developmental delay, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by problems in
social communication and interaction, as well as restricted/repetitive
behaviors. Medical and psychiatric conditions are frequently associated
with ASD and among the most common are gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms
and disorders, according to study background.
Michaeline Bresnahan, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Columbia University, New
York, and coauthors analyzed data from a large Norwegian mother and
child study group to compare maternal reports of GI symptoms during the
first three years of life in three groups of children: 195 children with
ASD; 4,636 children with developmental delay (DD) and delayed language
and/or motor development; and 40,295 children with typical development
(TD). GI symptoms were based on mothers reporting constipation, diarrhea
and food allergy/intolerance.
The authors found that children with ASD had higher odds of their
mothers reporting constipation and food allergy/intolerance in the 6- to
18-month-old age range, and higher odds of diarrhea, constipation and
food allergy/intolerance in the 18- to 36-month-old age range compared
with children with typical development.
Mothers of children with ASD also were more likely to report one or
more GI symptoms in their children in either of the age ranges and they
were more than twice as likely to report at least one GI symptom in both
age ranges compared with mothers of children with typical development
or developmental delay, the study results indicate.
“Even though GI symptoms are common in early childhood, physicians
should be mindful that children with ASD may be experiencing more GI
difficulties in the first three years of life than children with TD and
DD. Furthermore, the GI symptoms may be more persistent in children with
ASD. The potential for underrecognition and undertreatment of GI
dysfunction in the context of a complicated developmental picture is
real. Treatments that address GI symptoms may significantly contribute
to the well-being of children with ASD and may be useful in reducing
difficult behaviors,” the study concludes.
(JAMA Psychiatry. Published online March 25, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3034. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor’s Note: This
research was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care
Services, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, a grant from
the National Institutes of Health /National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke and other sources. Please see the article for
additional information, including other authors, author contributions
and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.