Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Medication Treated Preschool-Age Children Without and With Autism...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Developmental Psychology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are common neurodevelopmental conditions in children.
• Preschool-aged children with ADHD may or may not have co-occurring ASD, impacting treatment approaches.
• Stimulant and alpha-2-agonist (A2A) medications are commonly used to manage ADHD symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare preschool children with ADHD without ASD (ADHD-ASD) to those with ADHD and ASD (ADHD+ASD).
• To evaluate the effectiveness and adverse effects of stimulant versus A2A medications in these groups.
• To identify differences and similarities in demographics, coexisting conditions, and treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of electronic health records for 497 preschool children (under 72 months) treated for ADHD.
• Comparison of ADHD-ASD and ADHD+ASD groups based on demographics, comorbidities, medication effectiveness, and adverse events.
• Analysis of stimulant and A2A medication use, discontinuation factors, and side effects.

Main Results:

• No significant demographic differences were found between ADHD-ASD and ADHD+ASD groups.
• The ADHD-ASD group showed stimulant medications to be significantly more effective than A2As.
• Children with ADHD-ASD experienced more appetite suppression and stomachaches with stimulants; no increased A2A adverse effects were linked to ASD status.

Conclusions:

• Preschool children with ADHD-ASD and ADHD+ASD exhibit more similarities than differences.
• Stimulant medications demonstrated superior effectiveness over A2As for the ADHD-ASD group.
• There is substantial overlap in clinical presentation, medication response, and comorbidities between the two groups.