Ceruti Claudia, Mingozzi Alessandra, Scionti Nicoletta, Marzocchi Gian Marco
Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2024 Apr 15;11(4):473. doi: 10.3390/children11040473.
Two neurodevelopmental conditions, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have been associated with executive function (EF) impairments but the specificity of their impairments is still controversial. The present meta-analysis aimed to identify the differences in EF profiles of ASD, ADHD, and ASD+ADHD in relation to a control group of individuals with typical development (TD) and to understand whether the EF performance could change depending upon the type of measure used to assess EF (performance tests vs. questionnaires). Results from 36 eligible studies revealed that ADHD and ASD showed more difficulties than the TD group in tests and, particularly, in questionnaires. No significant differences in the EF profile emerged between ASD and ADHD when assessed through neuropsychological tests ( = 0.02), while significant differences emerged when assessed through questionnaires, with ADHD having higher ratings than ASD ( = -0.34). EF questionnaires and neuropsychological tests may catch two different constructs of EF, with the former being more predictive of everyday life EF impairments. The comparison between the double diagnosis group (ADHD+ASD) and the clinical groups pointed out that the former has a more similar EF profile to the ADHD-alone one and that it shows more difficulties than ASD-alone.
两种神经发育障碍，即自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）和注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD），已被证实与执行功能（EF）受损有关，但其受损的特异性仍存在争议。本荟萃分析旨在确定ASD、ADHD以及同时患有ASD和ADHD的患者在执行功能方面与典型发育（TD）对照组的差异，并了解执行功能的表现是否会因评估执行功能的测量方法（表现测试与问卷）不同而有所变化。36项符合条件的研究结果显示，ADHD和ASD在测试中，尤其是在问卷方面，比TD组表现出更多困难。通过神经心理学测试评估时，ASD和ADHD在执行功能方面没有显著差异（ = 0.02），而通过问卷评估时则出现了显著差异，ADHD的得分高于ASD（ = -0.34）。执行功能问卷和神经心理学测试可能捕捉到执行功能的两种不同结构，前者更能预测日常生活中的执行功能受损情况。双重诊断组（ADHD + ASD）与临床组的比较指出，前者的执行功能与单纯ADHD组更为相似，且比单纯ASD组表现出更多困难。
