Prevalence of co-occurring conditions in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This large research review looked at health conditions that commonly occur alongside autism in nearly 600,000 people. The most common conditions were movement coordination problems, sleep issues, stomach problems, ADHD, anxiety, being overweight, eating difficulties, toileting problems, challenging behaviors, and physical complaints. These conditions were more or less common depending on whether the person was a child or adult, helping families and doctors know what to watch for.

This comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis examined co-occurring conditions in autism across 340 studies involving approximately 590,000 participants. The research identified prevalence rates for 38 point prevalence conditions, 27 lifetime conditions, and 3 conditions without temporal distinction. The most frequent co-occurring conditions included developmental coordination disorder, sleep problems, gastrointestinal issues, ADHD, anxiety disorders, overweight/obesity, feeding and eating disorders, elimination disorders, disruptive behavior, and somatic symptoms. Prevalence rates varied significantly between children/adolescents and adults, and between population-based and clinical sample studies.

This large-scale analysis provides crucial epidemiological data to guide clinical assessment and intervention planning for autistic individuals.

This evidence supports systematic screening for multiple co-occurring conditions in autism. Clinicians should prioritize assessment of motor coordination, sleep, gastrointestinal health, ADHD, anxiety, weight management, feeding, toileting, and behavioral concerns. Age-specific assessment protocols may be warranted given developmental differences in prevalence patterns.

The abstract does not specify exact prevalence rates, confidence intervals, or heterogeneity measures. No information provided about study quality assessment, geographic distribution of studies, or specific methodological limitations of included studies.

This systematic review estimates the prevalence of co-occurring conditions (CCs) in children and adults with autism. A comprehensive search strategy consulting existing guidelines, diagnostic manuals, experts, carers, and autistic people was developed. PubMed and PsycInfo databases from inception to May 2022 were searched. PROSPERO registration: CRD42019132347.

Two blind authors screened and extracted the data. Prevalence estimates for different CCs were summarized by using random effects models. Subgroup analyses were performed for age groups (children/adolescents vs adults) and study designs (population/registry-based vs clinical sample-based). Of 19,932 studies, 340 publications with about 590,000 participants were included and meta-analyzed to estimate the prevalence of 38-point prevalence, 27-lifetime, and 3 without distinction between point and lifetime prevalence.

Point prevalence of developmental coordination disorder, sleep-wake problem, gastrointestinal problem, ADHD, anxiety disorder, overweight/obesity, feeding and eating disorder, elimination disorder, disruptive behavior, and somatic symptoms and related disorder were the most frequent CCs. Prevalence differed depending on the age group and study design. Knowing specific CCs linked to autism helps professional investigations and interventions for improved outcomes.