Una porzione di pazienti con ADHD manifestano tratti AUTISTICI
01.03.2014 20:47
J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. Published online September 9, 2013
Autistic Traits in Children With and Without ADHD
Amelia Kotte, PhDa, Gagan Joshi, MDb,c, Ronna Fried, EdDa,b, Mai Uchida, MDa, Andrea Spencer, MDa, K. Yvonne Woodworth, BAa, Tara Kenworthy, BAa, Stephen V. Faraone, PhDd, and Joseph Biederman, MDa,b
OBJECTIVE: To assess the implications of autistic traits (ATs) in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) without a diagnosis of autism.
METHODS: Participants were youth with (n = 242) and without (n = 227) ADHD and controls without ADHD in whom a diagnosis of autism was exclusionary. Assessment included measures of psychiatric, psychosocial, educational, and cognitive functioning. ATs were operationalized by using the withdrawn + social + thought problems T scores from the Child Behavior Checklist.
RESULTS: A positive AT profile was significantly overrepresented among ADHD children versus controls (18% vs 0.87%; P < .001). ADHD children with the AT profile were significantly more impaired than control subjects in psychopathology, interpersonal, school, family, and cognitive domains.
CONCLUSIONS: A substantial minority of ADHD children manifests ATs, and those exhibiting ATs have greater severity of illness and dysfunction.