Autism Research最新文献

Autism screening aids in early detection and diagnosis. Several screeners are available for toddlers 16 months and older, but there is little data on the accuracy of screening measures used in the first year of life. A community sample (N = 1641) completed three screeners—M-CHAT-R, ITC, VIRSA—online at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age (including exploratory use of M-CHAT-R prior to 16 months). At 36 months, outcomes of ASD or Non-ASD were determined by tele-evaluation and outcome surveys. Psychometric properties were assessed for all screeners at all ages, both used individually and in combination. When used in the first year of life (6–12 months), psychometric properties were in the poor range, with area under the curve (AUC) < 0.70 for all three screeners, whether used in isolation or combination. At 18 and 24 months, the M-CHAT-R and ITC outperformed the VIRSA, with psychometric properties in the fair range (AUC 0.70–0.79) used in isolation and the good range (AUC ≥ 0.80) when used in combination. Using the M-CHAT-R and ITC at more than one age in the second year also fell in the good range. This study, using procedures to address limitations of prior screening studies and follow screen-negative cases, found that none of the three screeners had adequate psychometric properties in the first year. At 18 and 24 months, findings supported the use of multiple screeners, either in combination or longitudinally, for best prediction of autism diagnosis.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is frequently associated with motor difficulties that may affect daily functioning, participation in physical activity, and developmental outcomes. Although motor impairments have been widely reported in this population, comparative evidence against typically developing (TD) peers remains fragmented across studies and assessment tools. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine whether children and adolescents with ASD show lower motor competence than TD peers and to identify the most affected motor domains. A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and SPORTDiscus up to December 10, 2025. Studies were eligible if they included children or adolescents with ASD and TD controls and assessed motor competence using standardized instruments. A total of 42 studies involving 3142 participants were included. The most frequently used tools were the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, and the Test of Gross Motor Development. Across studies, children and adolescents with ASD consistently showed poorer performance than TD peers in manual dexterity, aiming and catching, balance, locomotor skills, and object control. Meta-analytic findings also indicated that participants with ASD had greater odds of presenting motor difficulty and being classified within the at-risk range. Despite heterogeneity and methodological limitations, the overall evidence supports a broad pattern of lower motor competence in ASD. These findings reinforce the importance of early motor assessment and targeted intervention in clinical and educational contexts.

Exogenous prenatal exposures may affect neurodevelopment across multiple generations. We investigated grandmother and grandfather smoking, alcohol, coffee, and tea consumption during pregnancy in relation to their grandchildren's risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Pregnant participants (grandparent generation) in the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) were interviewed between 1959 and 1967 about their own and their partners' smoking and consumption of alcohol, coffee, and tea. CHDS participant records were linked to 18,053 third-generation California births from 1989 to 2014, from which ASD cases were identified from Department of Developmental Services records. We estimated adjusted relative risk (aRR) of ASD associated with grandparents' smoking and consumption of alcoholic beverages, coffee, and tea from log-binomial regression models adjusted for grandparents' age, education, and grandmother's race. Grandfather's overall tobacco smoking (including pipes and cigars) during their partner's pregnancy was related to grandchild ASD (aRR = 1.76, 95% confidence interval [1.05, 2.96]), as was grandfathers' cigarette smoking (aRR = 1.67 [1.01, 2.76]), particularly smoking 20 or more cigarettes per day (aRR = 1.91 [1.03, 3.55]), relative to no smoking. Alcohol consumption of five or more drinks of hard liquor per week by grandfathers was associated with ASD in grandchildren (aRR = 2.90 [1.24, 6.79], relative to none), as was total consumption of nine or more total alcoholic drinks (aRR = 1.87 [1.00, 3.51] relative to < 9). Coffee consumption and combined coffee and tea consumption by either grandparent were not associated with grandchild ASD. Findings support the hypothesis that grandfather exposures around the time of offspring conception are linked to grandchild autism.

Among older adults in the general population, medications with anticholinergic (AC) effects are associated with declines in cognitive functioning and with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Autistic people have high rates of co-occurring medical conditions and polypharmacy across the lifespan; thus, they may be at particularly high risk of exposure to AC medications and their negative impacts on cognitive functioning, including earlier in adulthood. Consistent with this, a single study has shown AC medication use is prevalent among autistic adults without co-occurring intellectual disability and is associated with self-reported concurrent memory problems and declines in cognition. No study has examined AC medications and their associations with cognition among autistic adults with higher support needs. We therefore characterized AC medication use and its associations with caregiver-rated memory problems and changes in cognition and behavior that have been linked with cognitive decline. Caregivers of autistic adults (18–68 years; Mean ~31 years) recruited via Simons Powering Autism Research's (SPARK) Research Match service reported medication use (N = 512), memory complaints (N = 467), and a screener that probes behavior/cognitive changes (N = 466) that are associated with cognitive decline among persons with an intellectual disability. The majority (66.41%) of autistic adults were taking at least one AC medication and 31% were taking clinically-meaningful levels of these medications. After controlling for age and birth sex, greater potency of AC medications was associated with both caregiver-reported memory challenges and behavioral/cognitive changes associated with cognitive decline. Understanding AC medication use and its potential impacts on cognition among autistic adults with higher support needs is crucial.

Antidepressant prescribing and autism diagnoses have increased in recent years. We aimed to describe and compare trends in antidepressant prescribing, indications, doses and durations in autistic and non-autistic males and females in the United Kingdom (UK) from 1997 to 2023. Using population-representative UK primary care records, we defined three autistic groups—autistic adults with intellectual disability (ID), autistic adults without ID and all autistic adults—and four non-autistic groups. In each calendar year we calculated: annual, lifetime and new antidepressant prescribing; indications for serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor initiation; average doses prescribed for citalopram, fluoxetine, and sertraline; and the proportion of courses that lasted over 1, 2, and 3 years. We also repeated analyses with sex-stratification. In all, 34,173,295 non-autistic adults and 172,242 autistic adults were included (47,011 with ID and 125,231 without ID). 30% of autistic adults and 14.7% of non-autistic adults were prescribed an antidepressant in 2023. Prescriptions, doses and course durations increased over time for all groups. Prescriptions were highest in autistic adults without ID and females, whereas course durations were highest in autistic adults with ID. Recording of depression and anxiety as indications was lower for those with ID. Antidepressant prescribing has increased more for autistic adults than non-autistic adults since 1997, with more new starters, higher doses and longer course durations. This potentially increases the risk of adverse medication effects for autistic adults and emphasizes the need for stronger evidence around the effectiveness and tolerability of mental health interventions and the reasons for systematic differences in prescribing.