Table 1.
Clinical comorbidities commonly associated with ASD.
| Domain | Comorbid symptoms |
|---|---|
| Epilepsy | High prevalence of epilepsy (8–25%) and EEG abnormalities (46%) in ASD patients (Amiet et al., 2008; Parmeggiani et al., 2010; Jeste, 2011) |
| High rate of treatment resistant epilepsy in idiopathic autism (34%) (Dudova et al., 2011; Sansa et al., 2011) | |
| Heightened aggression | Approximately 70% of ASD patients exhibit aggression toward caregivers (Kanne and Mazurek, 2011) |
| Reactive aggression correlates with impairments in emotional regulation in children with ASD but not in typically developing children (Pouw et al., 2013) | |
| Anxiety | 40% of ASD cases associated with at least one comorbid anxiety disorder (van Steensel et al., 2011) |
| Gastrointestinal disturbances | Up to 90% ASD patients have chronic GI problems, most commonly constipation, also abdominal pain, diarrhea, and bloating (Parracho et al., 2005; Ibrahim et al., 2009; Buie et al., 2010) |
| Sensory | Tactile: heightened sensitivity to vibration and thermal pain in palm and forearm (Blakemore et al., 2006; Cascio et al., 2008) |
| Auditory: atypical change detection of auditory stimuli (Gomot et al., 2006; Kwakye et al., 2011) | |
| Visual: superior performance in detail oriented tasks, deficits in motion perception (Dakin and Frith, 2005; Latham et al., 2013; Robertson et al., 2013) | |
| Altered olfaction and taste in high-functioning ASD patients (Bennetto et al., 2007; Dudova et al., 2011) | |
| Motor impairment | Delays in gross and fine motor domains (Jeste, 2011) |
| Deficits in motor planning, coordination, and gait (Rinehart et al., 2006; Jeste, 2011) | |
| Sleep | Sleep disturbances (quality, quantity, latency to sleep) found in 40–80% of children and adolescents with ASD (Allik et al., 2006; Malow et al., 2006; Jeste, 2011) |
| Sleep onset problems and night waking common in 2- to 5-year-olds with ASD (Krakowiak et al., 2008) |
Comorbid traits observed in patients with ASD are heterogeneous and include enhanced seizure susceptibility, heightened aggression, anxiety, gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, altered sensory and motor function, and sleep disorders.