NDD-ECHO: A standardised digital assessment tool to capture early life environmental and inflammatory factors for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Shrujna Patel, Velda X Han, Brooke A Keating, Hiroya Nishida, Shekeeb Mohammad, Hannah Jones, Russell C Dale

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

3citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

In vitro ibuprofen has gene regulatory and anti-inflammatory properties in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of individuals with infection-provoked neurodevelopmental disorders.Inflammopharmacology · 2026
Article
From Genetic Determinism to Epigenetic Regulation: Paradigm Shifts in the Understanding of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026
Review
Peripheral blood transcriptomics identifies cohesin-chromatin and immune dysregulation in tics and Tourette syndrome.Frontiers in neurology
Article

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shrujna PatelKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Velda X HanKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Brooke A KeatingKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Hiroya NishidaKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Shekeeb MohammadKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Hannah JonesKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Russell C DaleKids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Tourette syndrome are highly prevalent in childhood and are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The maternal immune activation (MIA) hypothesis suggests that inflammation during pregnancy can increase the risk of NDDs in offspring. However, current practice focuses mainly on capturing family history of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Beyond this, capturing detailed early life environmental data in clinical settings remains challenging. To address this, we developed NDD-ECHO (Neurodevelopmental Disorders-Environmental and Clinical History Online), a standardised digital assessment tool designed to systematically collect maternal and child environmental histories, alongside neurodevelopmental symptom profiles. NDD-ECHO is designed to collaboratively collect information from caregivers with clinician input, covering family medical history, maternal pregnancy history and environmental exposures, child's environmental exposures (including infection) and child's diagnosis, clinical course, and function. The survey, built on the REDCap platform, was piloted in a cohort of 161 children with complex NDDs referred to a tertiary neurodevelopmental clinic. Our results demonstrate that nearly 80 % of children experienced loss of developmental skills, and many had symptom exacerbations triggered by infections or stress, supporting the role of environmental factors in NDD symptomatology. NDD-ECHO, available for free download via the REDCap Shared Library, has clinical and research applications, enabling standardised identification of environmental triggers and exploration of gene-environment interactions. This tool advances research by improving data collection on environmental risk factors and enhances personalised care for children with NDDs. Limitations include reliance on retrospective caregiver reports and the pilot cohort's specialised clinical setting, which may limit generalisability.

Indexed as

Autism spectrum disorderEpigeneticExposomeMaternal immune activationObsessive-compulsive disorderTourette syndrome

Identifiers

PMID40485664

DOI10.1016/j.bbih.2025.101011

PMCPMC12140942

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.