Observational studyJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2022
The effect of autistic traits on response to and side-effects of pharmacological ADHD treatment in children with ADHD: results from a prospective clinical cohort.
Observational study in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02136147 (Naturalistic Study of ADHD Medication and Predictors of Treatment Outcome), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Naturalistic Study of ADHD Medication and Predictors of Treatment Outcome
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of physical activity on working memory in children with ADHD: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Medicaid Expansion and Medication Use Among U.S. Children with ASD or ADHD: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Analysis Comparing Before and During the COVID-19 Periods.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pharmacological treatment in autism: a proposal for guidelines on common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms.BMC medicine · 2025Review
- Treatment of Aggressive Behavior and Agitation in an 11-Year-Old Boy with Co-Occurring Autism and ADHD: A Case Report and Literature Review on the Use of Intravenous Valproate in Emergency Psychiatry.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Long-term medication for ADHD (LMA) trial: 2-year prospective observational study in children and adolescents. Core symptoms, daily functioning, and comorbidity outcomes.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Observational
- Methylphenidate-associated chest pain in a child.BMJ case reports · 2023Article
- Individually tailored dosage regimen of full-spectrum Cannabis extracts for autistic core and comorbid symptoms: a real-life report of multi-symptomatic benefits.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Observing the behavioural effects of methylphenidate in children and adolescents with ASD-ADHD dual diagnosis: A mini review.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood behavioral condition that globally affects an average of around 5% of children and is associated with several adverse life outcomes. Comorbidity with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly prevalent. Pharmacological treatment for ADHD symptoms has been shown to be effective. However, the prevailing perception is that children with ADHD and concomitant ASD symptoms report poorer efficacy and more side effects. This has been supported by studies on this population, but prospective studies directly comparing children with ADHD and different levels of ASD symptoms are lacking. We aimed to assess if children with ADHD and concomitant ASD symptoms differ regarding effects and side-effects of pharmacological ADHD treatment compared to children with ADHD without ASD traits. This is to our knowledge the second study to directly compare the effect of ADHD medication between ADHD patients with different levels of ASD symptoms.
methodsIn a non-randomized, observational, prospective cohort study, 323 patients aged 6 to 17 years who were diagnosed with ADHD and starting pharmacological treatment were divided into two groups: one with high level of ASD symptoms (ASD group, N=71) and one with low level of ASD symptoms (non-ASD group, N = 252). Treatment outcome was measured as ADHD symptoms, and evaluated using the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Teacher and Parent ADHD rating scale-version IV (SNAP-IV). Side-effects were evaluated using the Pediatric Side Effects Checklist (P-SEC), at 3 months follow-up.
resultsFrom baseline to 3 months, there was no significant difference in neither treatment effect nor number of clinically significant adverse events experienced between the ASD group and the non-ASD group.
conclusionsOur results did not implicate that ADHD patients with concomitant ASD symptoms have decreased treatment effect of ADHD medication than patients with ADHD without concomitant ASD symptoms. Neither did the results support that ADHD patients with ASD symptoms experienced significantly more side-effects than ADHD patients without ASD symptoms. Although, we did not analyze different medications separately, this is in line with the only previous study directly comparing methylphenidate treatment in children with or without ASD.
trial registrationNCT02136147 , May 12, 2014.
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Registered trials
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.