Co-morbid medical conditions in autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Introduction: many children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have comorbid medical conditions. Recent large-scale studies have confirmed that several medical conditions are significantly more prevalent in people with autism compared to the typical population. Comorbid conditions may be markers for basic psychopathology and may require a more varied treatment approaches. Comorbid conditions in ASD are: anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, gastrointestinal disorders, depression and other psychopathological disorders, ADHD, Fragile X syndrome, mental retardation, neuroinflammation and immune disorders, nonverbal learning disorder, motor clumsiness, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, sensory problems, tuberous sclerosis, oxidative stress, acquired mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic abnormalities, etc. Methodology: the main goal of the article is to present the most frequent medical conditions in ASD in a sample from the Republic of Macedonia. The main task of the research is to show that accurate diagnosis and treatment often results in an improved level of functioning and decreased severity of symptoms. This is a retrospective, descriptive study where 102 medical records from the Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism were analyzed. In the study, 88 males and 14 females were included with a mean age of 6.9±3.63 years. The results: the most prevalent medical conditions were acute infectious disease (40%): varicella in 35 (34%) and measles in 7 (6%) of the persons with autism. Angina was seen in 34 (33%) persons of the sample. Sixteen patients met the criteria for any kind of allergies on food, medicaments, and inhalants. Conclusions, as a symptom, were represented in 15 (14%) of the subjects. Eleven patients had lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and bronchopneumonia. Eleven percents had gastrointestinal disorders. Genetic disorders were not detected. Conclusion: medical comorbid and consecutive pathological processes can have a negative impact on behavior, socialization, communication, cognitive function and sensory processing of individuals with autism. The failure to identify medical conditions, in part, is due to communication impairments and ambiguous symptomatology, but under-diagnosis also exists. Many of these medical conditions are treatable, and often resulting in improved quality of life for the patient and the family. Accurate identification and solving the conditions of medical comorbid with autism will help the reduction of the immense emotional, physical and financial burden of the families and the guardians.