Abstract
It is hypothesised that autism symptoms are present in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), are familial and index subtypes of ADHD. Autism symptoms were compared in 821 ADHD probands, 1050 siblings and 149 controls. Shared familiality of autism symptoms and ADHD was calculated using DeFries-Fulker analysis. Autism symptoms were higher in probands than siblings or controls, and higher in male siblings than male controls. Autism symptoms were familial, partly shared with familiality of ADHD in males. Latent class analysis using SCQ-score yielded five classes; Class 1(31%) had few autism symptoms and low comorbidity; Classes 2–4 were intermediate; Class 5(7%) had high autism symptoms and comorbidity. Thus autism symptoms in ADHD represent a familial trait associated with increased neurodevelopmental and oppositional/conduct disorders.
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Acknowledgements
The IMAGE project is a multisite, international effort supported by NIH Grant R01MH62873 to SV Faraone. Site Principal Investigators are Philip Asherson, Tobias Banaschewski, Jan Buitelaar, Richard P Ebstein, Stephen V Faraone, Michael Gill, Ana Miranda, Robert D Oades, Herbert Roeyers, Aribert Rothenberger, Joseph Sergeant, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, and Hans-Christoph Steinhausen. Senior co-investigators are Margaret Thompson, Pak Sham, Peter McGuffin, Robert Plomin, Ian Craig and Eric Taylor. Chief Investigators at each site are Rafaela Marco, Nanda Rommelse, Ueli Mueller, Aisling Mulligan, Wai Chen, Henrik Uebel, Hanna Christiansen, Cathelijne Buschgens, Lamprini Psychogiou, Sheera Meidad, Isabel Gabriels. Other investigators are Marieke Altink, Ellen Fliers, Barbara Franke, Ruud Minderaa, Fernando Mulas and Alysa Doyle. We thank all the families who kindly participated in this research.
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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0640-0
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Aisling Mulligan, Richard JL Anney, Louise Butler, Michael Fitzgerald and Michael Gill are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Myra O’Regan is affiliated with the Department of Statistics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Wai Chen, Jonna Kuntsi and Phil Asherson are affiliated with the MRC Social Genetic Developmental and Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom. Jan Buitelaar, Cathelijne Buschgens, Nanda Rommelse and Barbara Franke are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Hans-Christoph Steinhausen and Ueli Mueller are affiliated with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Aribert Rothenberger, Tobias Banaschewski and Henrik Uebel are affiliated with the. Ruud Minderaa, Judith Nijmeijer, Catharina Hartman and Pieter J. Hoekstra are affiliated with the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center, Groningen, The Netherlands. Robert D. Oades and Hanna Christiansen are affiliated with the University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45147 Essen, Germany. Herbert Roeyers and Isabel Gabriels are affiliated with Ghent University, Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Richard Ebstein and Iris Manor are affiliated with the ADHD Clinic, Geha Mental Health Center, Petak Tikvah, Israel. Sheera Meidad and Jacques Eisenberg are affiliated with S. Herzog Memorial Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel. Rafaela Marco and Ana Miranda are affiliated with the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Spain. Fernando Mulas is affiliated with the Neuropediatric Service, University Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain. Joseph Sergeant is affiliated with Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Lamprini Psychogiou, Margaret Thompson and Edmund Sonuga-Barke are affiliated with the School of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom. Stephen V. Faraone is affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University and with the Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY.
Aisling Mulligan is now at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles Street, Dublin 7 and University College Dublin, Ireland. Barbara Franke is also associated with the Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tobias Banaschewski is also affiliated with the Central Institute of Mental Health, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, J 5, D-68159 Mannheim, Germany.
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Mulligan, A., Anney, R.J.L., O’Regan, M. et al. Autism symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Familial trait which Correlates with Conduct, Oppositional Defiant, Language and Motor Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 197–209 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0621-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0621-3