ArticleThe American journal of psychiatry2021
Variable Emergence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms From Childhood to Early Adulthood.
Article in The American journal of psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Atypical local brain connectivity in pediatric autism spectrum disorder? A coordinate-based meta-analysis of regional homogeneity studies.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Brain-based sex differences in autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan: A systematic review of structural MRI, fMRI, and DTI findings.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2021Pooled it
- Peer Interaction in Late-Diagnosed Autistic Adolescent Boys and Girls.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Identifying Neurodevelopmental Domain Subgroups in Autism and ADHD.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Time trends in the male to female ratio for autism incidence: population based, prospectively collected, birth cohort study.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Article
- The Eph-ephrin system in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN · 2026Review
- Depression and anxiety are increased in autism and ADHD: Evidence from a young adult community-based sample.JCPP advances · 2025Article
- Early life stress induces social behavioral deficits and peripheral biomarker alterations in adolescence that perpetuate intergenerationally.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Advanced Quantitative Microstructure Imaging in Autism: A Review of Methodology, Group Differences, and Associations With Developmental Outcomes.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Review
- The role of social drivers of health in communication abilities of autistic adolescents and young adults.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Large-scale examination of early-age sex differences in neurotypical toddlers and those with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental conditions.Nature human behaviour · 2025Article
- The DCIDE framework: systematic investigation of evolutionary hypotheses, exemplified with autism.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Association Between Joint Attention and Autism Traits in Young Adults: A Gaze-Contingent Eye-Tracking Study.Research in autism · 2025Article
- Autistic and non-autistic adults use discourse context to determine a speaker's intention to request.Cognitive processing · 2025Article
- Where do neurodevelopmental conditions fit in transdiagnostic psychiatric frameworks? Incorporating a new neurodevelopmental spectrum.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2024Article
- Neurobiology of cognitive abilities in early childhood autism.JCPP advances · 2024Article
- Genomic analysis of 116 autism families strengthens known risk genes and highlights promising candidates.NPJ genomic medicine · 2024Article
- Autism spectrum disorder in ICD-11-a critical reflection of its possible impact on clinical practice and research.Molecular psychiatry · 2024Review
- Co-development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autistic trait trajectories from childhood to early adulthood.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2023Article
- Whole genome analysis of rare deleterious variants adds further evidence to BRSK2 and other risk genes in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Research square · 2023Article
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Abstract
objectiveAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently considered an early-onset neurodevelopmental condition. Follow-up studies of clinic-ascertained autism suggest that autistic symptoms typically decline with age, although symptom improvement is limited for some. To date there have been no population-based prospective studies investigating the natural history of autistic symptoms from childhood to adulthood. The aim of this study was to characterize the development and heterogeneity of autistic symptoms in a population-based cohort from childhood to age 25.
methodsData were analyzed in a prospective U.K. population-based cohort (ALSPAC). Trajectories were derived using five assessments of the parent-rated Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC) spanning ages 7-25. Additional measures were used to validate symptom trajectories.
resultsThree distinct SCDC symptom trajectory classes were identified: low (88.5%), declining (5.0%), and late-emerging (6.5%). Both the declining and late-emerging trajectory classes were associated with child and adult ASD measures, low IQ, communication problems, peer problems, and worse adult functioning compared with the low trajectory class. Male sex was associated with a higher likelihood of being in the declining trajectory class (odds ratio=2.84, 95% CI=2.19, 3.69). This sex difference was not observed in the late-emerging class (odds ratio=1.00, 95% CI=0.80, 1.24) compared with the low trajectory class.
conclusionsASD symptom levels that emerged early tended to decline across development, although impairment was still present in adulthood for some. For others, autistic symptoms emerged across adolescence and adulthood. This challenges our current understanding that ASD symptoms inevitably first manifest early in development.
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