International Meeting for Autism Research (London, May 15-17, 2008): Relationship between ASD Diagnosis and Developmental, Psychiatric, Medical, and Concurrent Diagnoses or Symptoms in Children Age 8 Years in 2002

Friday, May 16, 2008: 1:45 PM

Mancy (Novotel London West)

S. E. Levy , Division of Child Development, Rehabilitation and Metabolic Disease, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

L. C. Lee , Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD

E. Giarelli , School of Nurisng, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

L. Schieve , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Atlanta, GA

R. S. Kirby , University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL

C. Cuniff , University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ

J. A. Reaven , UCHSC/JFK Partners, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO

J. S. Nicholas , Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

J. Pinto-Martin , Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

C. E. Rice , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Atlanta, GA

Background: Few studies have examined the population-based prevalence of concurrent medical, developmental, and/or psychiatric conditions in children with ASD; however, studies of referred populations support high frequencies.

Objectives: To examine concurrent diagnoses and symptoms in a population-based sample of 8-year-old children.

Methods: Data were collected by 13 surveillance programs in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Information was abstracted from existing clinical and education evaluation records of 8 year-old children with an indication of an ASD or related condition and reviewed by trained clinicians. This study included 2568 children who met the surveillance case definition for ASD; 73% had been classified with autism or ASD previously.

Results: Eighty-one percent of study children were male; 63% white, 23% black, 14% Hispanic, Asian, or not stated. ASD was classified before age 3 years for 13%, between ages 3-5 years for 23%, after age 5 years for 29%, and age was not specified for 8%. No previous ASD diagnosis or educational eligibility was recorded in evaluation records for 27%, but they had behavioral descriptions consistent with DSM-IV-TR criteria for ASD (and in 41%, suspicion of ASD was also noted). Overall, the prevalence of ³1 concurrent non-ASD developmental diagnoses was 83%, ³1 psychiatric diagnoses was 10%, ³1 medical diagnoses or symptoms was 18%, and a possibly causative genetic or neurologic diagnosis was 4%. For any type of concurrent diagnoses 14.8% of children had none, 59.6% had one and 25.7% had 2 or more. Children with ASD classification based on behavioral description (not a previously documented clinician diagnosis) were more likely to have all four types of concurrent diagnoses than children with a previously documented diagnosis or classification.

Conclusions: Improved understanding of high frequency of co-occurring conditions among children with ASD has implications for understanding etiology, recognition and appropriate treatment of ASD.

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