Brief Report: The Characterization of Medical Comorbidity Prior to Autism Diagnosis in Children Before Age Two.

Researchers looked at medical records of nearly 600 autistic children and compared them to over 1,800 other children to see what health conditions appeared before age 2. They found that children later diagnosed with autism were more likely to have had seizures, unusual eye movements, delayed development, and crossed eyes in their first two years. These early signs might help doctors identify autism sooner.

This retrospective case-control study analyzed electronic medical records of 579 autistic children and 1,897 matched controls to identify medical conditions present before age 2 that may predict later autism diagnosis. Using logistic regression analysis, researchers found several conditions were significantly more common in children later diagnosed with autism: generalized convulsive epilepsy, nystagmus (involuntary eye movements), lack of normal physiological development, delayed developmental milestones, and strabismus (misaligned eyes). Interestingly, perinatal jaundice was less likely in the autism group. The findings suggest that lesser-known conditions like eye movement disorders could enhance early autism screening practices.

These findings could inform development of enhanced early autism screening tools by incorporating assessment of seizures, eye movement disorders, and developmental delays in infants. However, further validation studies are needed before implementing clinical protocols based on these associations.

Study design not specified in abstract. Unclear methodology for matching controls. No information about diagnostic criteria or follow-up duration. Potential selection bias from electronic medical records. Cannot establish causality from observational data.

In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), medical conditions in infancy could be predictive markers for later ASD diagnosis. In this study, electronic medical records of 579 autistic individuals and 1897 matched controls prior to age 2 were analyzed for potential predictive conditions. Using a novel tool, the relative association of each condition in the autistic group was compared to the control group using logistic regressions across medical records. Generalized convulsive epilepsy, nystagmus, lack of normal physiological development, delayed milestones, and strabismus were more likely in those later diagnosed with ASD while perinatal jaundice was less likely to be associated.

Lesser-known conditions, such as strabismus and nystagmus, may point to novel predictive co-occurring condition profiles which could improve screening practices for ASD.