May 14, 2024
In the field of mental health, professionals often use a variety of tools to diagnose and understand neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). One such tool is the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), which is specifically designed to help diagnose autism. However, the ADOS wasn't originally intended for children who have both autism and ADHD, though this comorbidity is not uncommon.
A recent study aimed to explore how children with ADHD, autism, or both, pay attention to social images, such as faces. The study focused on using eye-tracking technology to measure where children direct their gaze when viewing pictures, and how long they look at certain parts of the image. This is important because differences in visual attention can provide insights into the nature of these disorders.
The researchers included 84 children in their study, categorized into four groups: those with ASD, those with ADHD, those with both ASD and ADHD, and neurotypical (NT) children without these conditions. During the study, children were shown social scenes from the ADOS, and their eye movements were recorded. The ADOS assessment was administered afterward. To ensure that the results were not influenced by medications, children who were on stimulant medications for ADHD were asked to pause their medication temporarily.
The results of the study showed that children with ASD, whether they also had ADHD or not, tended to spend less time looking at faces compared to children with just ADHD or NT children. The severity of autism symptoms, measured by the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), was associated with reduced attention to faces. Interestingly, ADHD symptom severity, measured by Conners' Rating Scales (CRS-3), did not correlate with how children looked at faces.
These findings suggest that measuring visual attention might be a valuable addition to the assessment process for ASD, especially in cases where ADHD is also present. The study indicates that if a child with ADHD shows reduced attention to faces, it might point to additional challenges related to autism. The researchers noted that more studies with larger groups of children are needed to confirm these findings, but the results are promising. They hope that such measures could eventually enhance diagnostic processes and help in managing the complexities of cases involving comorbidity of ADHD and ASD.
This research opens up the possibility of using eye-tracking as a supplementary diagnostic tool in the assessment of autism, providing a more nuanced understanding of how attentional differences in social settings are linked to ASD and ADHD.
Kochhar P, Arora I, Bellato A, Ropar D, Hollis C, Groom MMJ. A comparison of visual attention to pictures in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule in children and adolescents with ADHD and/or autism. Front Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 29;15:1378593. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1378593. PMID: 38742132; PMCID: PMC11089217.
This study investigates how certain genetic disorders, called RASopathies, affect the structure of the brain in children. RASopathies are conditions caused by mutations in a specific signaling pathway in the body. Two common RASopathies are Noonan syndrome (NS) and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), both of which are linked to a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The researchers analyzed brain scans of children with RASopathies (91 participants) and compared them to typically developing children (74 participants). They focused on three aspects of brain structure: surface area (SA), cortical thickness (CT), and subcortical volumes.
The results showed that children with RASopathies had both similarities and differences in their brain structure compared to typically developing children. They had increased SA in certain areas of the brain, like the precentral gyrus, but decreased SA in other regions, such as the occipital regions. Additionally, they had thinner CT in the precentral gyrus. However, the effects on subcortical volumes varied between the two RASopathies: children with NS had decreased volumes in certain structures like the striatum and thalamus, while children with NF1 had increased volumes in areas like the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus.
Overall, this study highlights how RASopathies can impact the development of the brain in children. The shared effects on SA and CT suggest a common influence of RASopathies on brain development, which could be important for developing targeted treatments in the future.
In summary, understanding how these genetic disorders affect the brain's structure can help researchers and healthcare professionals develop better treatments for affected children.
Organic farming aims to protect biodiversity, promote animal welfare, and avoid using pesticides and fertilizers made from petrochemicals. Some pesticides are designed to target insects’ nervous systems but can also affect brain development and health in larger animals, including humans.
Many people believe organic food is healthier than conventionally produced food, which might be true for certain foods and health factors. But does eating organic food during pregnancy impact the chances of a child developing ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
In Norway, researchers can use detailed national health records to study these connections on a population-wide level, thanks to the country’s single-payer healthcare system and national registries.
The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) invites parents to participate voluntarily and has a 41% participation rate. The study includes:
For this research, a team tracked 40,707 mother-child pairs from children born between 2002 and 2009. They used questionnaires to measure how much organic food mothers consumed during pregnancy. ADHD and ASD symptoms in children were assessed using validated rating scales.
The final analysis included:
The researchers adjusted for factors like maternal age, education, previous pregnancies, BMI before pregnancy, smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, birth year and season, and the child’s sex.
The researchers concluded that eating organic food during pregnancy has no meaningful effect on the likelihood of a child developing ADHD or ASD. They stated, “The results do not indicate any clinically significant protective or harmful effects of eating organic food during pregnancy on symptoms of ADHD and ASD in the offspring. Based on these findings, we do not recommend any specific advice regarding intake of organic food during pregnancy.”
Infertility affects about one in six couples worldwide. To address this, medical experts have developed Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), including In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with or without Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
Some research suggests that children conceived through ART might have higher rates of intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, cancer, and neurological issues compared to children conceived naturally. However, studies looking at a possible link between ART and ADHD have produced mixed and conflicting results.
Until now, there hasn’t been a meta-analysis examining the connection between ART and ADHD. A South Korean research team has conducted the first systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic. Their final analysis included eight studies with a total of over ten million participants, comprising six cohort studies and two cross-sectional studies.
The research focused on two types of studies:
Both types of studies are observational, meaning they don’t involve controlled experiments and can be influenced by confounding factors. So they can document interesting associations, not causality. The studie were mostly large-scale national studies and used clinical ADHD diagnoses.
The researchers concluded that while there may be a small association between ART and ADHD, the effect is minimal, and the results are influenced by differences in study designs. They advised interpreting these findings with caution, noting, “The limited effect size and inherent heterogeneity underscore the need for cautious interpretation.”
Periodontitis, commonly known as gum disease, is a condition where the gums become inflamed. If untreated, it can cause the gums to pull back from the teeth, exposing their base, which may eventually lead to loose teeth or tooth loss. While this condition mostly affects adults, it’s also common among teens who don’t floss or brush their teeth properly.
Until now, only a few small studies have looked at a possible link between ADHD and gum disease. A team in Taiwan recently conducted a nationwide study to explore this connection.
Taiwan has a universal health insurance program, introduced in 1995, that provides medical care to nearly all (99.7%) residents. The Taiwan National Health Research Database collects and oversees all insurance claims, making it an excellent resource for large-scale studies.
The researchers used the database to identify teens aged 12 to 19 with ADHD (diagnosed by a psychiatrist) who had no history of gum disease between 2001 and 2011. These teens made up the ADHD group. They matched each ADHD participant with four teens who didn’t have ADHD or gum disease, creating a control group. The groups were matched by age, gender, enrollment date, family income, place of residence, and other health conditions (like obesity, diabetes, smoking, depression, and substance use).
All diagnoses of gum disease were confirmed by board-certified dentists.
The study included:
The researchers concluded that teens with ADHD have a higher risk of developing gum disease later on, even after accounting for other risk factors like smoking, diabetes, and depression. They stated, “ADHD is an independent risk factor for developing periodontitis.”
_logo%201.svg)
