ABSTRACT

RELEVANCE. Autism spectrum disorders represent a complex group of neurodevelopmental conditions with extremely heterogeneous clinical manifestations. A key feature of autism spectrum disorders is the high prevalence of co-occurring neuropsychiatric conditions that significantly affect cognitive development, quality of life, adaptation, and prognosis.

AIM. To provide an extended review of current evidence regarding the prevalence, pathogenesis, and clinical significance of neurological and psychiatric comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. An analytical review of international publications indexed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and eLibrary databases between 2015 and 2025 was conducted. The following search terms were used: autism spectrum disorder, comorbidity, epilepsy, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neuroinflammation, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The prevalence of comorbid conditions in patients with autism spectrum disorders reaches 70–90 %. The most common were epilepsy, anxiety and depressive disorders, ADHD, sleep disturbances and sensory integration deficits. Their development is associated with synaptic dysfunction, excitatory–inhibitory imbalance, altered activity of neurotransmitter systems (GABA, glutamate, serotonin, dopamine), and chronic neuroinflammation.

CONCLUSION. Comorbidity is a system-forming factor in the clinical phenotype of autism spectrum disorders. A personalized approach that includes comprehensive neurological and psychiatric assessment increases the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment, reduces the severity of behavioral disturbances, and improves social adaptation.

KEYWORDS: autism spectrum disorder, comorbidity, neuroinflammation, epilepsy, neurodevelopmental disorders

For citation: Khakimova S.Z., Hamdamova B.K. Neurological and Psychiatric Comorbidities in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review. Comorbidity Neurology. 2026; 3 (1): 43–48. https://doi.org/10.62505/3034-185x-2026-3-1-43-48 

*For correspondence: Bahora K. Hamdamova, Assistant of the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Postgraduate Education, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, e-mail: bhamdamova1@gmail.com.

Received: Nov 10, 2025
Revised: Dec 01, 2025
Accepted: Dec 04, 2025

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Sokhiba Z. Khakimova, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Postgraduate Education, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. E-mail: hakimovasohiba@list.ru. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4804-3651

Bahora K. Hamdamova, Assistant of the Department of Neurology, Faculty of Postgraduate Education, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. E-mail: bhamdamova1@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3612-8634

Author contributions. All authors confirm that their authorship complies with the international ICMJE criteria (all authors made a significant contribution to the development of the concept, the conduct of the study and the preparation of the article, read and approved the final version before publication). Special contributions: Khakimova S.Z. – conceptualization, methodology, writing review & editing; Hamdamova B.K. – formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft.

Funding. This study was not supported by any external sources of funding.

Disclosure. The author declare no apparent or potential conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article.

The content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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