Ear, nose and throat problems in young ‘may have autism link’

COMMON ear infections and nose and throat issues in children may be linked to autism, research suggests.

Experts said their study had found a link between rarely listening, mouth breathing, snoring, pulling and poking ears, ears going red, and having worse hearing during a cold with high scores on key autism traits.

However, the team stressed that their study, published in the journal BMJ Open, did not prove these conditions caused autism or that children with autism were more likely to suffer these illnesses.

Previous studies have also suggested a link between these sorts of infections and autism.

Dr Amanda Hall, honorary senior research fellow at Bristol Medical School and senior lecturer in audiology at Aston University, said: “I think the type of study design doesn’t allow us to say whether it has a causal influence or not.”

But she added: “I think what it does do is it adds to the pattern of results that have been reported in the literature for a long time that children with autism have different early history than children who aren’t autistic.”

She said the team found that common ear and upper respiratory symptoms appeared to be more common in children with a subsequent diagnosis of autism or high levels of autism traits.

“However, it is also important to note that these ENT (ear, nose and throat) symptoms are very common in childhood and most children who experience these signs and symptoms do not go on to be diagnosed with autism,” she said.

“For example, of the group of around 1,700 children who snored at age 30 months, most of them (1,660 children) did not get a later diagnosis of autism.”

She said her message for parents of autistic children was to “consult with their GP or paediatrician if they have concerns about their child’s ears and hearing”.

The researchers used data from the long-term Children of the 90s study, also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which has tracked children since birth.

They examined information from more than 10,000 young children who were closely monitored throughout their first four years of life.