Co-occurrence of autism and asthma in a nationally-representative sample of children in the United States.

Kotey et al. (2014) looked at a big national survey of U.S. kids. They asked, 'Do children with autism also have more asthma?'

They compared kids with and without autism. The survey covered thousands of families, so the picture is broad, not just clinic kids.

Kids with autism were about 35 % more likely to have asthma. The rise was small but real after the team adjusted for age, sex, and income.

In plain words, for every 100 autistic kids, roughly 11 had asthma, versus 8 in 100 non-autistic kids.

Dai et al. (2019) extends the same idea. They found asthma is also more common in brothers and sisters of autistic kids. This hints that shared family genes or home environments may drive both conditions.

Kaiser et al. (2022) widens the lens. Their review shows autistic kids also face higher odds of inflammatory bowel disease. Asthma and IBD are both inflammatory, so immune differences may link them.

Rydzewska et al. (2019) looked at a whole-country census and saw autism traveling with many medical problems, not just asthma. Stanley’s asthma finding now sits inside this bigger health map.

If you screen for asthma at intake, you can spot breathing issues that might worsen behavior or sleep. Quick referral to a pediatrician can cut emergency visits and missed therapy days. Add one asthma question to your parent form today—it costs nothing and may save a lot.