Brief Report: Macrocephaly Phenotype and Psychiatric Comorbidity in a Clinical Sample of Mexican Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may present with macrocephaly. Few studies have analyzed the association with psychiatric comorbidity. Participants were 94 children with any ASD with an age range from 2 to 16 years (Mdn 6 years), 82% were boys. It was found that 20% of the sample had macrocephaly and 1% microcephaly. There was no association between the presence of macrocephaly and subtype of ASD. The most associated comorbidity was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 54.2%, followed by specific phobia 34%, dysthimia 29.7%, oppositional defiant disorder 13.83% motor tics 11.7%, separation anxiety 9.5% and Gilles de la Tourette 8.5%. In conclusion, macrocephaly and psychiatric comorbidity in this clinical sample of children with ASD is similar to the international literature results.