Commonalities and specificities between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism-spectrum disorders: can epidemiology contribute?

Measuring Autism Traits in the Adult General Population with the Brief Autism-Spectrum Quotient, AQ-10: Findings from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort

BACKGROUND

The autism-spectrum quotient scale was developed to study autism as a spectrum. Few studies have examined the psychometric properties of the 10 item AQ (AQ-10). We examine the AQ-10 measurement ability and convergent validity in a population health survey (n = 44,722).

METHODS

The item severity and item discrimination was assessed using item response theory. Convergent validity was assessed by regressing on ADHD, psychological distress (PD) and having an education in the sciences.

RESULTS

Whilst unidimensional, the AQ-10 had some poorly fitting items. Item discrimination ranged from very low to very high. The scale correlated as hypothesised with the regress expected when factoring in ADHD, PD and possessing an eduction in the sciences.

CONCLUSION

The AQ-10 has adequate validity in the present sample and may be used in s as a measure of autistic traits. In Conclusion, The AQ-10 has adequate validity to be used in health surveys as a measure of autistic traits, although some items may perform poorly.

Comorbidity prevalence and treatment outcome in children and adolescents with ADHD

Although ADHD comorbidity has been widely studied, some issues remain unsolved. This multicenter observational study aims to examine comorbid psychiatric disorders in a clinical sample of newly diagnosed, treatment naïve children and adolescents with and without ADHD and, to compare treatment efficacy based on the type of comorbidity. We performed an analysis of the medical records of patients identified from the Regional ADHD Registry database, enrolled in 18 ADHD centers in the 2011-2016 period. 1919 of 2861 subjects evaluated (67%) met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD: 650 (34%) had only ADHD, while 1269 (66%) had at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder (learning disorders, 56%; sleep disorders, 23%; oppositional defiant disorder, 20%; anxiety disorders, 12%). Patients with ADHD of combined type and with severe impairment (CGI-S ≥5) were more likely to present comorbidity. 382 of 724 (53%) followed up patients improved after 1 year of treatment. ADHD with comorbidity showed greater improvement when treated with combined interventions or methylphenidate alone. Specifically, combined treatment showed significant superiority for ADHD with learning disorders (ES 0.66) and ODD (ES 0.98), lower for ADHD with sleep or anxiety disorders. Training intervention alone showed only medium efficacy (ES 0.50) for ADHD and learning disorders. This study was the first describing comorbidity patterns of ADHD in Italy, confirming, in a multicenter clinical setting, that ADHD is more often a complex disorder. Findings highlight important diagnostic, therapeutic, and service organization aspects that should be broadly extended to ensure an appropriate and homogenous ADHD management.