And children who failed to react to nearby noise were more than six times as likely to have autism at this age. For example, children with discharge from their ears were more than three times as likely to have autism, while those with impaired hearing during a cold were more than twice as likely to do so. Autism itself was significantly associated with all signs except for symptoms of sleep apnea (interrupted breathing during sleep).įactoring in the 10 environmental features made little difference to the results. Children with high scores on autistic traits at 30 months had more ENT signs. Pus or sticky discharge from the ears was also associated with autism and with poor coherent speech.Īmong the different ages tested, strong associations were particularly observed when the child was aged 30 and 42 months. Those with autism traits were defined as the 10% of the sample with the highest trait scores.Įarly evidence of breathing through the mouth, snoring, ear pulling or poking, reddened and sore ears, worse hearing during a cold, and rarely listening were all more commonly associated with high scores on each of the four autism traits, and with a diagnosis of autism. In all, 177 children had a probable diagnosis of autism: 139 boys and 38 girls. A diagnosis of autism was confirmed from educational records and parental feedback, among other sources.Īdjustments were made for 10 potentially influential ‘environmental’ factors: early or late birth sex number of mother’s previous pregnancies resulting in a live or stillbirth breast feeding postnatal depression mother’s educational achievements mother’s smoking at 18 weeks of pregnancy mother’s belief in her own agency child’s exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at 15 months child’s attendance at a crèche/other daycare by the age of 30 months.
These were designed to pinpoint speech coherence, social and communication issues, repetitive and abnormal behaviors, and sociability, traits that are characteristic of autism. They also completed three questionnaires when their children were just over three, nearly six, and nine years old.
Their mothers completed three questionnaires when their children were aged 18, 30, and 42 months, which were designed to record the frequency of nine different signs and symptoms relating to the ear, nose, and throat, as well as any hearing problems. The current study is based on comprehensive data for more than 10,000 young children who were closely monitored throughout their first four years. This has tracked the health of more than 14,000 children since birth and that of their parents from the early 1990s onwards. To avoid this, the researchers drew on participants in the long-term Children of the 90s study, also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). But most of this evidence is based on health records, which may have biased these findings, because parents of children with suspected autism may be more likely than other parents to seek medical help for their offspring, explain the researchers. Previous research suggests that ENT conditions, such as ear infections, ‘glue ear’, and sleep disordered breathing, may have a role in the development of autism. The causes of autism are likely to involve an interplay of genetic, environmental, and biological factors, and the origins of each autistic trait may also differ, note the researchers.
Young children with common ear, nose, and throat (ENT) issues may be at subsequent risk of autism or high levels of demonstrable autism traits, suggests research published online in the open access journal BMJ Open.Įarly identification and treatment of ENT conditions may improve these children’s quality of life and potentially help shed light on some of the origins of autism, say the researchers.
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