Association between atopic diseases and neurodevelopmental disabilities in a longitudinal birth cohort.
Kids with asthma, eczema, or hay fever are significantly more likely to also have ADHD or other neurodevelopmental disabilities—screen both domains when either is diagnosed.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Qu et al. (2022) followed a birth cohort to see if kids with asthma, eczema, or hay fever later get ADHD or autism.
Doctors tracked health records for years. They counted who got neurodevelopmental diagnoses.
What they found
Children with any of the three allergic conditions had higher odds of ADHD and other delays.
The autism link faded after the team adjusted for family and birth factors.
How this fits with other research
Mierau et al. (2026) extends the finding. Their Ontario health-records study also shows kids with ASD have more asthma than peers.
Starr et al. (2026) looks at a different early risk—maternal fever plus placental inflammation—but still finds the same trio: higher odds of ADHD and ASD.
Pitchford et al. (2019) synthesis includes kids with ADHD/ASD and flags poor sleep as a stress driver. Xueqi’s allergic group may also have sleep issues, so watch for that overlap.
Why it matters
If a client shows up with eczema or asthma, think ADHD. Screen attention, impulse control, and sleep. Share the clue with parents and pediatricians so nothing is missed. Early joint care can cut later struggles.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Reports on the association between the prevalence of atopic diseases and neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDs) have been inconsistent in the literature. We investigated whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), and other NDs are more prevalent in children with asthma, atopic dermatitis (AD) and allergic rhinitis (AR) compared to those without specific atopic conditions. A total of 2580 children enrolled at birth were followed prospectively, of which 119 have ASD, 423 have ADHD, 765 have other NDs, and 1273 have no NDs. Atopic diseases and NDs were defined based on physician diagnoses in electronic medical records. Logistic regressions adjusting for maternal and child characteristics estimated the associations between NDs (i.e., ASD, ADHD, and other NDs) and asthma, AD and AR, respectively. Children with asthma, AD or AR had a greater likelihood of having ADHD or other NDs compared with children without specific atopic conditions. The association between ASD and asthma diminished after adjusting for maternal and child factors. Either mothers or children having atopic conditions and both mothers and children with atopic conditions were associated with a higher prevalence of ADHD in children, compared with neither mothers nor children having atopic conditions. Children diagnosed with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to have NDs compared with those without or with only one type of atopic disease. In conclusion, in this U.S. urban birth cohort, children with atopic diseases had a higher co-morbidity of NDs. The findings have implications for etiologic research that searches for common early life antecedents of NDs and atopic conditions. Findings from this study also should raise awareness among health care providers and parents about the possible co-occurrence of both NDs and atopic conditions, which calls for coordinated efforts to screen, prevent and manage NDs and atopic conditions.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022 · doi:10.1183/13993003.01507-2019