Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Br J Psychiatry. 2009 Dec;195(6):531-6. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.060889.
Autism is associated with intellectual disability. The strength and origin of this association is unclear.
To investigate the association between extreme autistic traits and intellectual disability in children from a community-based sample and to examine whether the association can be explained by genetic factors.
Children scoring in the extreme 5% on measures of autistic traits, IQ and academic achievement were selected from 7965 7/8-year-old and 3687 9-year-old twin pairs. Phenotypic associations between extreme autistic traits and intellectual disability were compared with associations among the full-range scores. Genetic correlations were estimated using bivariate DeFries-Fulker extremes analyses.
Extreme autistic traits were modestly related to intellectual disability; this association was driven by communication problems characteristic of autism. Although this association was largely explained by genetic factors, the genetic correlation between autistic traits and intellectual disability was only modest.
Extreme autistic traits are substantially genetically independent of intellectual disability.
自闭症与智力障碍有关。这种关联的强度和起源尚不清楚。
从基于社区的样本中调查儿童极端自闭症特征与智力障碍之间的关联，并检验该关联是否可以用遗传因素来解释。
从 7965 名 7/8 岁和 3687 名 9 岁的双胞胎中选择自闭症特征、智商和学业成绩得分处于极端 5%的儿童。将极端自闭症特征与智力障碍之间的表型关联与全范围分数之间的关联进行比较。使用双变量 DeFries-Fulker 极值分析来估计遗传相关性。
极端自闭症特征与智力障碍有一定的相关性；这种关联是由自闭症特有的沟通问题驱动的。尽管这种关联在很大程度上可以用遗传因素来解释，但自闭症特征与智力障碍之间的遗传相关性仅适中。
极端自闭症特征与智力障碍在很大程度上是遗传上独立的。
