Association Between Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors and Mental Health Symptoms in Children With Autism and ADHD: A Latent Profile Analysis.
A balanced lifestyle—moderate exercise, limited screens, good diet, and solid sleep—cuts irritability and shields autistic kids with ADHD from both worry and aggression.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Bourke et al. (2026) looked at how daily habits line up with mood and behavior in autistic children who also have ADHD. They used parent answers about sleep, screen time, exercise, and diet to sort kids into lifestyle groups.
The team ran a latent profile analysis. This is a stats tool that finds hidden patterns in big sets of answers.
What they found
Four clear lifestyle profiles popped out. The balanced group had moderate exercise, limited screens, good food, and enough sleep. These kids showed the lowest irritability.
Kids in the high-screen and poor-diet group had more internalizing problems like worry and sadness. Surprisingly, the very-high-activity group had the most externalizing problems such as hitting or yelling.
How this fits with other research
Pimenta et al. (2023) used the same latent-class method on children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Both studies show that kids with neuro-developmental conditions fall into clear mental-health profiles, even when the diagnosis differs.
Børg et al. (2012) found that sleep trouble in autistic kids lasts for years. Matthew’s work now places good sleep inside a broader balanced-lifestyle cluster, giving you a fuller picture to target.
Ekas et al. (2011) saw double the risk of obesity and high lipids in adults with autism. Matthew links poor diet and high screens to child internalizing symptoms, hinting that early lifestyle patterns may start the path toward adult metabolic problems.
Why it matters
You can’t write a melatonin script for every restless night, but you can coach families toward a balanced day. Ask about screens at breakfast, snacks at lunch, and playground time after school. Small tweaks across four areas beat chasing single symptoms.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Healthy lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, screen time, sleep, and diet quality, are important determinants of mental health, yet little is known about how these behaviors cluster among children with neurodevelopmental disorders. This study identified lifestyle profiles in children with autism and ADHD and examined associations with internalizing, externalizing, and irritability symptoms. Parents of children with a diagnosis of autism and ADHD (n = 523, 7-12 years, 67% male) reported on lifestyle behaviors and mental health outcomes. Latent profile analysis supported a four-profile solution that balanced statistical fit, parsimony, and theoretical interpretability. Profile 1 (19%) was characterized by very high levels of physical activity, moderate sedentary screen time, relatively high sleep, and above average diet quality. Profile 2 (50%) represented a balanced lifestyle, with moderate activity and sedentary screen time, adequate sleep, and the highest diet quality. Profile 3 (20%) showed low activity, elevated sedentary screen time, adequate sleep, and poor diet quality, while Profile 4 (11%) was defined by extremely high sedentary screen time, low activity, adequate sleep, and poor diet. Children in less healthy profiles characterized by high screen time and poor diet quality reported significantly higher internalizing symptoms compared to the highly active group. However, externalizing symptoms were highest in the highly active profile, and irritability was lowest in the balanced profile relative to both high activity and high screen time groups. Findings suggest that while very high physical activity may protect against internalizing symptoms, a balanced lifestyle combining moderate activity, limited screen use, adequate sleep, and good diet quality may best mental health in children with autism and ADHD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2026 · doi:10.1002/aur.70238