Auditory brainstem response in infants and children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of wave V.
Oren Miron, Andrew L Beam, Isaac S Kohane
PMID 29087045WHAT IT FOUND
Across 25 studies, autism was linked to longer auditory brainstem response timing than controls.
That timing difference shrank with age and reversed in adults. It does not yet support a clinical test.
Key findings
01The pooled analysis of all 25 studies found significant prolongation of wave V latency in ASD compared with controls (SMD 0.505, CI 0.309 to 0.700, P < 0.001).
02Age had a significant negative effect on ASD wave V prolongation (R2 0.227, F 7.04, P 0.013, B -0.23).
03The 22 studies with mean age below 18 years showed significant ASD prolongation of wave V (SMD 0.632, CI 0.476 to 0.788, P < 0.001), while the 3 studies with mean age above 18 years showed significant ASD shortening (SMD -0.607, CI -1.021 to -0.194, P = 0.004).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 25 of the 50 studies found were included, and exclusions removed studies that did not report wave V latency or age values, were not in English, or used only participants with a specific genetic abnormality. The included studies used different prolongation thresholds, so subgroups could not be compared directly. ASD is described as heterogeneous, so wave V prolongation may occur only in a subgroup. The adult finding came from only 3 studies, while the child finding came from 22 studies. Wave V prolongation was also found in children with language delay, so it is not specific to ASD. The authors say this could become a low-cost risk marker only if replication studies show sufficient specificity.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use wave V prolongation as a diagnostic test for autism. The studies report group differences, the direction changes with age, and prolongation also appears in language delay.