Association between type 2 inflammatory diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders in low-birth-weight children and adolescents.
Low-birth-weight children who live with asthma or eczema carry about 50–80 % higher odds of later autism, ADHD, or learning disability diagnoses.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Huang et al. (2024) sent surveys to parents of 11,260 low-birth-weight kids and teens. They asked if the child had asthma, eczema, or food allergy and if doctors had ever said the child had autism, ADHD, or a learning disability.
The team then ran stats to see whether the inflammatory diseases and the neurodevelopmental diagnoses showed up together more often than chance.
What they found
Kids with asthma or atopic dermatitis were about 1.5 to 1.8 times more likely to also have ASD, ADHD, or LD. The link held after the researchers adjusted for sex and race, and the size of the link differed slightly between boys and girls and across racial groups.
How this fits with other research
Modabbernia et al. (2016) pooled 67 studies and saw that babies who needed oxygen or had low Apgar scores later faced doubled odds of ID and modestly higher ASD odds. Huang’s survey moves the timeline forward, showing that the inflammatory diseases that often follow neonatal breathing problems bring their own added risk.
Mascheretti et al. (2018) reviewed the reading-disorder literature and flagged low birth weight as a top predictor. Huang’s work widens the lens, showing the same vulnerable group is also at risk for ASD and ADHD when allergic disease is present.
Together the papers draw a line: neonatal adversity → low birth weight → ongoing type-2 inflammation → higher odds of any neurodevelopmental diagnosis. The findings do not clash; each study highlights a different mile marker along that road.
Why it matters
When you see a low-birth-weight client with asthma or eczema, think ‘double screening.’ Track early signs of autism, ADHD, and learning issues just as closely as you track inhaler technique or skin care. Flagging the medical–developmental link lets you start ABA, academic, or attention interventions sooner, potentially shaving months off the time to meaningful goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Evidence of the association of certain neurodevelopmental disorder with specific type 2 inflammatory (T2) disease has been found. However, the association of various neurodevelopmental disorders with T2 diseases as a whole remains unclear in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants. To evaluate the association of type 2 inflammatory (T2) diseases with intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning disability (LD) in LBW children and adolescents. The study sample was derived from 2005 to 2018 National Health Interview Survey sample child files. LBW children and adolescents aged 3–17 were included. History of T2 diseases (including asthma and atopic dermatitis) and four neurodevelopmental disorders were reported by adults in families. The relationship between T2 diseases and the risk of four neurodevelopmental disorders was investigated through multiple-weighted logistic regression. Age, sex, race/ethnicity, region, highest education in family and ratio of family income to the poverty threshold were adjusted as covariates for model estimation. Subgroup analyses were conducted by age stratification (3–11 and 12–17 years), sex (male and female), and race (white and non-white). 11,260 LBW children aged 3–17 years [mean age (SE), 9.73 (0.05) years] were included, in which 3,191 children had T2 diseases. History of T2 diseases was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, with an OR of 1.35 (95% CI, 0.99–1.84) for ID, 1.47 (95% CI, 1.05–2.05) for ASD, 1.81 (95% CI, 1.51–2.16) for ADHD, and 1.74 (95% CI, 1.49–2.04) for LD following the adjustment of all the covariates. The correlations between T2 disorders and each of the four neurodevelopmental disorders were significantly different by sex and race (all P for interaction < 0.001), and no differences were found in age stratification (all P for interaction > 0.05). In a nationally representative sample of children, we found a significant association of T2 diseases with ASD, ADHD, and LD, even after adjusting for demographic baseline. We also found that the association of T2 disease with neurodevelopmental disorders differed between sex and race. Further investigation is needed to evaluate causal relationships and elucidate their potential mechanisms.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2024 · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1292071