ADHD-related symptoms and attention profiles in the unaffected siblings of probands with autism spectrum disorder: focus on the subtypes of autism and Asperger's disorder.
Yi-Ling Chien, Miao-Chun Chou, Yen-Nan Chiu and 4 others
PMID 28770037WHAT IT FOUND
Unaffected siblings of Asperger's probands showed more oppositional and hyperactive/impulsive traits than controls, with small attention trends.
Siblings of autism probands showed more oppositional traits only. Attention test differences were small and inconsistent.
Key findings
01Unaffected siblings of Asperger's probands showed more oppositional and hyperactive/impulsive traits than typically developing controls.
02Unaffected siblings of autism probands showed more oppositional traits than controls, but not higher inattentive or hyperactive/impulsive traits.
03When autism and Asperger's siblings were combined, their attention profiles were not different from controls except longer reaction time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study did not give clinical ADHD or oppositional diagnoses; it used parent reports, so symptoms were measured dimensionally. The study did not test whether attention differences were specific to ASD or linked to co-occurring ADHD traits. Participants with full-scale IQ below 70 were excluded, so results may not apply to ASD individuals with lower IQ. Probands and controls were mostly male, while sibling groups had about half female, and age ranges differed. Lower IQ in autism probands may confound group comparisons because IQ was not controlled.
Declared interests
Funding came from the Ministry of Science and Technology, R.O.C., and National Taiwan University Hospital. The text does not report a separate author conflict declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that unaffected siblings of ASD probands have clinically meaningful attention deficits or need ADHD treatment. The sibling groups were not diagnosed with ADHD, parent reports were used, and attention test differences were small, inconsistent, and not separated from co-occurring ADHD traits.