Longitudinal association between the duration of eye gaze fixation on social information and specific symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorders in children: A large-scale community-based cohort study

Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition clinically characterized by abnormalities in eye contact during social interactions. Eye-tracking systems have been used to screen individuals with ASD by capturing atypical eye gaze patterns of diagnostic significance, such as reduced duration of eye gaze fixation on social information. However, most prior studies have focused on the screening accuracy of eye-tracking systems in children already diagnosed with ASD, with few longitudinal assessments conducted on a large scale. This large-scale, longitudinal, community-based study aimed to analyze the association between specific neurodevelopmental symptoms and the duration of eye gaze fixation on social information within a community-based setting. Methods: A longitudinal study involving 2101 participants utilized a generalized linear model (GLM) to examine associations between the duration of eye gaze fixation on social information at age 4 years and subscale scores of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at ages 6–7. Results: GLM analysis revealed that shorter durations of eye gaze fixation on social information at age 4 years were significantly associated with emotional problems and peer problems, and with hyperactivity/inattention attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at ages 6–7 years. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the ability to detect not only peer problems characteristic of ASD but also hyperactivity/inattention characteristic of ADHD longitudinally, which it might be related to the comorbidity of ASD and ADHD. This preliminary study highlights the potential for neurodevelopmental screening; however, further research is needed to validate the accuracy of these methods.