Objectives: To compare numbers and types of co-occurring conditions in females versus males aged 3 – 17, with a current ASD diagnosis.
Methods: Using the US 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health dataset, two study groups were defined based on parent-reported data: 1) Males with a reported current ASD diagnosis (n = 753), and 2) Females with a reported current ASD diagnosis (n = 168). Co-occurring conditions of interest included Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disability, developmental delay, speech problems, hearing problems, anxiety, depression, behavioral or conduct problems, and seizures or epilepsy. Statistical analysis was carried out to examine the associations between child sex and the ASD co-occurring conditions. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed by taking the odds of each co-occurring condition for the female group and comparing them against the odds of the condition for the male ASD group. Analysis was performed using weighted data and accounted for the complex sampling procedures of the NSCH.
Results: As compared to males with a current ASD, females with a current ASD were 3.5 times (95% CI: 1.1-11.0) more likely to be African American (AA) and 2.4 times more likely to have a mother with education less than HS or HS (OR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-5.1). Furthermore, boys with a current ASD were nearly 13 times more likely to have learning disability in the past and 5 times more likely to have a current, mild learning disability than girls. Girls were found to be 8 times more likely to have a reported speech problem in the past than boys after taking into account race, ethnicity, and maternal education.
Conclusions: Selective vulnerability of AA females to ASD, along with lower educational attainment of their mothers, if confirmed, may suggest differences in underlying risk including biological, nutritional, and/or environmental factors. Greater risks for learning disabilities in males and speech problems in females with ASDs may relate to different patterns of sex-specific brain development. Studies that provide larger sample sizes are needed to further investigate sex differences in each co-occurring condition.
See more of: Treatments: A: Social Skills; School, Teachers
See more of: Prevalence, Risk factors & Intervention