What is known as autism is a whole spectrum of highly hereditary disorders, down to aspects such as the age of diagnosis. A study published in the journal Nature identified two different genetic profiles associated with earlier and later diagnoses.
The work, the result of a broad international collaboration led by the department of psychiatry at the British University of Cambridge, concludes that children diagnosed early, before the age of six, form a very different subgroup from those whose disorder is detected later, and confirms that autism is not a unitary condition.
The genetic data comes from more than 45,000 people from multiple cohorts in Europe and the United States, and the behavioral data from smaller samples, between 89 and 188 autistic people per group, obtained through strengths and difficulties questionnaires answered by caregivers.
The findings indicate that children diagnosed with autism at a younger age (typically before age six) are more likely to show behavioral difficulties from early childhood, such as problems with social interaction.
Those diagnosed with autism later, towards adolescence or even beyond, are more likely to experience social and behavioral difficulties during adolescence and are more likely to suffer from mental health disorders, such as depression.
Investigating genetic characteristics as a function of age at diagnosis, scientists saw two very different profiles.
We recommend: Why is leucovorin considered as a treatment for autism? This is what we know
Diagnosis by age may be closer to depression
They found that the average genetic profile of autism diagnosed later is closer to that of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, than to that of autism diagnosed in early childhood.
This greater genetic coincidence between autism diagnosed from adolescence and certain psychiatric disorders would indicate, the scientists point out, that there may be some genetic factors that increase the risk of mental disorders among people diagnosed with autism later.
Late diagnosis also implies a greater lack of support in early childhood, which would influence the increased risk of mental health problems in the group diagnosed later, as they are more vulnerable to bullying among others, the researchers point out.
The team further noted that genetic factors commonly inherited in these disorders influence the age of diagnosis, which would also be inherited.
“We have already discovered that early and late diagnosed autism have different biological and developmental profiles, the next step will be to understand the complex interaction between genetics and social factors that imply poorer mental health among late diagnosed autistic people,” says one of the authors, Varun Warrier, a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
“There are genetic influences that predispose people to display autistic traits from a very early age that can be more easily identified, leading to an earlier diagnosis, while there are others that make the traits not evident until late childhood or adolescence,” adds Warrier.
“Understanding how the characteristics of autism emerge not only in early childhood, but also later, could help us better recognize, diagnose and support autistic people of all ages,” he concludes.
With information from EFE
Subscribe to Forbes Mexico
