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Predictive utility of autistic traits in youth with ADHD: a controlled 10-year longitudinal follow-up study

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the stability and predictive utility of autistic traits (ATs) in youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were referred youth with and without ADHD, without a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, and their siblings, derived from identically designed longitudinal case–control family studies of boys and girls with ADHD. Subjects were assessed with structured diagnostic interviews and measures of social, cognitive, and educational functioning. The presence of ATs at baseline was operationalized using a unique profile of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) consisting of an aggregate T score of ≥ 195 on the Withdrawn, Social, and Thought Problems subscales (CBCL-AT profile). At the follow-up, 83% of the ADHD youth with a positive AT profile at baseline continued to have a positive CBCL-AT profile. The presence of a positive CBCL-AT profile at baseline in youth with ADHD heralded a more compromised course characterized by a greater burden of psychopathology that emerged at an earlier age, along with poorer interpersonal, educational, and neurocognitive outcomes. Findings indicate a high level of persisting ATs in ADHD youth over time, as indexed through the CBCL-AT profile, and the presence of this profile prognosticates a compromised course in adult life in multiple domains of functioning.

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Acknowledgements

The data acquisition for this analysis was derived was funded by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH-41314, HD036317, and MH050657 to Dr. Joseph Biederman. The manuscript and analysis of the data were indirectly supported by the Alan and Lorraine Bressler Clinical and Research Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder, the MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology Council Fund, and by the National Institute of Mental Health Grant awarded to Gagan Joshi (#K23MH100450).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Alan and Lorraine Bressler Clinical and Research Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, WRN 626, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Gagan Joshi, Maura DiSalvo, Janet Wozniak, Ronna Fried, Maribel Galdo, Abigail Belser, Barbora Hoskova, Nina T. Dallenbach, Melissa F. De Leon & Joseph Biederman

  2. Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Gagan Joshi, Maura DiSalvo, Janet Wozniak, Ronna Fried, Maribel Galdo, Abigail Belser, Barbora Hoskova, Nina T. Dallenbach, Melissa F. De Leon & Joseph Biederman

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Gagan Joshi, Janet Wozniak, Ronna Fried & Joseph Biederman

  4. Departments of Psychiatry and of Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Stephen V. Faraone

  5. Department of Biomedicine, K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Stephen V. Faraone

Authors
  1. Gagan Joshi
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  2. Maura DiSalvo
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  3. Stephen V. Faraone
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  4. Janet Wozniak
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  5. Ronna Fried
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  6. Maribel Galdo
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  7. Abigail Belser
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  8. Barbora Hoskova
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  9. Nina T. Dallenbach
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  10. Melissa F. De Leon
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  11. Joseph Biederman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gagan Joshi.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Gagan Joshi has received research support from the Demarest Lloyd, Jr. Foundation, F. Hoffman-La Roche, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number K23MH100450, Pfizer and the Simons Center for the Social Brain as a principal investigator (PI) for investigator-initiated studies. Additionally, he has received research support from Duke University and Sunovion Pharmaceuticals as a site PI for multi-site trials. He has been a co-investigator for a clinical trial sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. He received an honorarium from the Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism in New Jersey for grant review activities and speaker’s honorariums from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy, and the Medical Society of Delaware. In the past year, Dr. Stephen Faraone received income, potential income, travel expenses continuing education support and/or research support from Lundbeck, Rhodes, Arbor, KenPharm, Ironshore, Shire, Akili Interactive Labs, CogCubed, Alcobra, VAYA, Sunovion, Genomind and Neurolifesciences. With his institution, he has US patent US20130217707 A1 for the use of sodium–hydrogen exchange inhibitors in the treatment of ADHD. In previous years, he received support from: Shire, Neurovance, Alcobra, Otsuka, McNeil, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer and Eli Lilly. Dr. Faraone receives royalties from books published by Guilford Press: Straight Talk about Your Child’s Mental Health, Oxford University Press: Schizophrenia: The Facts and Elsevier: ADHD: Non-Pharmacologic Interventions. He is principal investigator of www.adhdinadults.com. Dr. Faraone is supported by the K.G. Jebsen Centre for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 602805, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agreement No 667302 and NIMH Grants 5R01MH101519 and U01 MH109536-01. In 2017–2018, Dr. Janet Wozniak received research support from PCORI. She is the author of the book, “Is Your Child Bipolar” published May 2008, Bantam Books. In 2015–2017, her spouse, Dr. John Winkelman, received an honorarium from Otsuka; royalties from Cambridge University Press and UptoDate; consultation fees from Advance Medical, FlexPharma and Merck; and research support from UCB Pharma, NeuroMetrix, and Luitpold. Dr. Ronna Fried has received research support from the Demarest Lloyd, Jr. Foundation, F. Hoffman-La Roche, and the FDA, as well as honoraria from the MGH Psychiatry Academy for tuition-funded CME courses. She has also been on an advisory board for Lundbeck. During previous years, Dr. Fried received research support from the National Institutes of Health and Shire. Dr. Joseph Biederman has received research support from the following sources: the Demarest Lloyd, Jr. Foundation, AACAP, The Department of Defense, Food & Drug Administration, Headspace, Lundbeck, Neurocentria Inc., NIDA, PamLab, Pfizer, Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sunovion, and NIH. Dr. Biederman has a financial interest in Avekshan LLC, a company that develops treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). His interests were reviewed and are managed by Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare in accordance with their conflict of interest policies. Dr. Biederman’s program has received departmental royalties from a copyrighted rating scale used for ADHD diagnoses, paid by Ingenix, Prophase, Shire, Bracket Global, Sunovion, and Theravance; these royalties were paid to the Department of Psychiatry at MGH. In 2017, Dr. Biederman is a consultant for Aevi Genomics, Akili, Guidepoint, Ironshore, Medgenics, and Piper Jaffray. He is on the scientific advisory board for Alcobra and Shire. He received honoraria from the MGH Psychiatry Academy for tuition-funded CME courses. Through MGH corporate licensing, he has a US Patent (#14/027,676) for a non-stimulant treatment for ADHD, and a patent pending (#61/233,686) on a method to prevent stimulant abuse. In 2016, Dr. Biederman received honoraria from the MGH Psychiatry Academy for tuition-funded CME courses, and from Alcobra and APSARD. He was on the scientific advisory board for Arbor Pharmaceuticals. He was a consultant for Akili and Medgenics. He received research support from Merck and SPRITES. In 2015, Dr. Biederman received honoraria from the MGH Psychiatry Academy for tuition-funded CME courses, and from Avekshan. He received research support from Ironshore, Magceutics Inc., and Vaya Pharma/Enzymotec. In 2014, Dr. Biederman received honoraria from the MGH Psychiatry Academy for tuition-funded CME courses. He received research support from AACAP, Alcobra, Forest Research Institute, and Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc. In previous years, Dr. Biederman received research support, consultation fees, or speaker’s fees for/from the following additional sources: Abbott, Alza, APSARD, AstraZeneca, Boston University, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge University Press, Celltech, Cephalon, The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida/Lee Memorial Health System, Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Esai, ElMindA, Fundacion Areces (Spain), Forest, Fundación Dr.Manuel Camelo A.C., Glaxo, Gliatech, Hastings Center, Janssen, Juste Pharmaceutical Spain, McNeil, Medice Pharmaceuticals (Germany), Merck, MGH Psychiatry Academy, MMC Pediatric, NARSAD, NIDA, New River, NICHD, NIMH, Novartis, Noven, Neurosearch, Organon, Otsuka, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Phase V Communications, Physicians Academy, The Prechter Foundation, Quantia Communications, Reed Exhibitions, Shionogi Pharma Inc, Shire, the Spanish Child Psychiatry Association, The Stanley Foundation, UCB Pharma Inc., Veritas, and Wyeth. All other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The human research committee at Massachusetts General Hospital approved this study, and this study has therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Parents and adult offspring provided written informed consent to participate and parents provided consent for offspring under 18 years of age. Children and adolescents provided written assent to participate.

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Joshi, G., DiSalvo, M., Faraone, S.V. et al. Predictive utility of autistic traits in youth with ADHD: a controlled 10-year longitudinal follow-up study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 29, 791–801 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-019-01384-8

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