Increased Risk of Atopic Diseases in the Siblings of Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Dai et al. (2019) used a national health registry to track brothers and sisters of children with autism.

They compared how many of these siblings got asthma, eczema, hay fever, and eye allergies to matched kids without an autistic brother or sister.

Siblings of children with autism had clearly higher odds of every allergy-related illness studied.

The risk stayed high for asthma, eczema, allergic runny nose, and allergic pink eye.

Kotey et al. (2014) had already shown autistic kids themselves get asthma about one-third more often.

Ying-Xiu extends that picture by showing the same pattern holds for their brothers and sisters and adds three more allergy types.

Earlier papers such as Orsmond et al. (2009) and Perez et al. (2015) warned that siblings face more anxiety or mood trouble.

The new study does not contradict those findings; it simply maps a different kind of risk—medical instead of emotional.

If you serve a family with autism, flag the siblings for possible asthma, eczema, and allergy symptoms.

Early screening can shorten clinic visits, cut missed school days, and keep the whole family breathing and sleeping better.