The Association of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Symptoms of Asthma, Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis and Eczema among Japanese Children Aged 3 - 6 Years

There is insufficient epidemiological evidence on the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and allergic diseases. We performed a cross-sectional survey to elucidate the associations between them using validated screening tools. The participants were children aged 3 - 6 years attending kindergarten or nursery school in Shika Town, Japan (n = 417;valid response rate = 80.4%). Autism spectrum features were scored on the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Allergic symptoms (asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema) were determined according to the criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. A total of 15 children (4.5%) had an SCQ score of 11 points or higher. The prevalence of symptoms was 14.7% for asthma, and 5.3% for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and 11.4% for eczema. Logistic regression indicated that symptoms of eczema were significantly associated with SCQ scores of 11 points or higher [odds ratio (OR), 4.38;95% confidence interval (CI), 1.41 - 13.59]. The association persisted after adjustment for age, sex, and BMI (OR, 3.84;95% CI, 1.20 - 12.24). Moreover, asthmatic symptoms were significantly associated with male sex (OR, 2.09;95% CI, 1.12 - 3.92) and overweight status (OR, 2.45;95% CI, 1.03 - 5.83). This suggests that higher SCQ scores, which imply more autism spectrum features, are associated with higher prevalence of eczema symptoms. While no causal relationships can be made, ASD might be associated with eczema.