Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33632186›Full record

ArticleBMC pediatrics2021

Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder.

Nachum Sicherman, Jimmy Charite, Gil Eyal, Magdalena Janecka, George Loewenstein, Kiely Law, Paul H Lipkin, Alison R Marvin, Joseph D Buxbaum

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Overall prognosis of preschool autism spectrum disorder diagnoses.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Child Autism Spectrum Disorder Following Maternal Abuse and Trauma History.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026
    Article
  4. Clinical Features of Children at Risk of Profound Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Article
  5. What Happens After Autism Screening-Factors That Predict Evaluation Attendance.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Nachum SichermanColumbia University, Graduate School of Business, 511 Uris Hall, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA. ns38@columbia.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7847-2927
Jimmy ChariteColumbia University, Graduate School of Business, 511 Uris Hall, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
Gil EyalDepartment of Sociology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Magdalena JaneckaSeaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.
George LoewensteinSocial and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Kiely LawKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Paul H LipkinKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Alison R MarvinKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Joseph D BuxbaumSeaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Mindich Institute for Child Health and Development, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Columbia University · USKennedy Krieger Institute · USIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · USDecision Sciences (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe objective of this study is to gain new insights into the relationship between clinical signs and age at diagnosis.

methodWe utilize a new, large, online survey of 1743 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, and use multiple statistical approaches. These include regression analysis, factor analysis, and machine learning (regression tree).

resultsWe find that clinical signs that most strongly predict early diagnosis are not necessarily specific to autism, but rather those that initiate the process that eventually leads to an ASD diagnosis. Given the high correlations between symptoms, only a few signs are found to be important in predicting early diagnosis. For several clinical signs we find that their presence and intensity are positively correlated with delayed diagnosis (e.g., tantrums and aggression). Even though our data are drawn from parents' retrospective accounts, we provide evidence that parental recall bias and/or hindsight bias did not play a significant role in shaping our results.

conclusionIn the subset of children without early deficits in communication, diagnosis is delayed, and this might be improved if more attention will be given to clinical signs that are not necessarily considered as ASD symptoms. Our findings also suggest that careful attention should be paid to children showing excessive tantrums or aggression, as these behaviors may interfere with an early ASD diagnoses.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderChildCommunicationEarly DiagnosisHumansParentsRetrospective StudiesAutism spectrum disorderClinical signsDiagnosis ageEarly diagnosisRegression treesSymptoms

Identifiers

PMID33632186
PMCPMC7905573
OpenAlexW3130654875

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.