Sleep Disorders and Constipation in Autistic Children and Youth: Who Receives Standard of Care Drug Treatments?

The study used administrative claims data, which lacks information on the severity of sleep or constipation symptoms, making it impossible to tell if girls had more severe conditions warranting treatment or if care was unequal. Over-the-counter drugs are not always listed in patient charts, potentially underestimating treatment rates, especially for families who purchase items like melatonin or MiraLAX directly. The analysis was not longitudinal; diagnoses and treatments were aggregated at the yearly level, so younger children who had not yet sought treatment might appear untreated simply because they were younger. There was a high percentage of missing racial and ethnic data in the sample, limiting the ability to fully assess disparities in those groups.

Funding was provided by the University of Southern California. The authors declared no other conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that autistic girls receive better or more appropriate care for sleep disorders than boys. The data show they receive more drug treatments, but without symptom severity measures, this could reflect girls having more severe sleep problems rather than a disparity in access or quality of care.