1167 The spectrum of Co-morbidities in children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). (17th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gulati, Sheffali; Sharma, Shobha; Singh, Arvinder; Chowdhary, Sayoni Roy; Meena, Ankit; Singh, Sonali; Khan, Sanjeeda; Bhattacharyya, Arunangshu; Rathi, Anushka; Purkayastha, Kakali
• Is Part Of: Archives of disease in childhood. Volume 107(2022)Supplement 2
• Page Start: A323
• Page End: A324
• Publication Date: 2022-08-17
• Subjects: Children -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Infants -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 618.920005
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-rcpch.523
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-9888

Abstract

Abstract : Aims: To study the spectrum of co-morbidities in children with ASD and their association with the severity of symptoms in ASD children as measured on Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Methods: This is a retrospective study of data collected from ASD (DSM 5 criteria) children between January 2017 to March 2021. Informed parental consent was obtained from the target group aged 2-18 years. A total of 1551 children (1310 boys, median age of 4.8 years with Interquartile range 3.2-7 years) were enrolled, patients were regularly followed at an interval of one to three months in Autism clinic. Standard clinical proforma was used to collect the detailed history and holistic evaluation. Evaluation for symptom severity and behavioural co-morbidities were done by CARS, Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC), and Childhood Behaviour Check List (CBCL) at baseline as well as on follow up visits. Based on the co-morbidities and severity the standard form of behavioural therapy and medications were prescribed. Results: The proportion of children with co-morbidities was 80% (1255/1551). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was the most common behavioural comorbidity (57.55%), followed by disruptive behaviour (4.51%) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (1.42%). Amongst other observed clinical co-morbidities global developmental delay/intellectual disability, sleep disturbances and epilepsy which were found in 55.58%, 47.29% and 12% of the children respectively. Gastrointestinal issues including feeding disorders were found in 5.22% and 0.45% of the children were obese. Learning difficulty was found in 2.32% of the children and it was higher in females, when compared to males (p-0.013). Only co-morbidities which were associated with high CARS score were feeding disorder (39.08 vs 37.14, p-0.02) and disruptive behaviour (38.88 vs 37.11, p-0.008). Conclusion: The magnitude of co-morbidity in children with ASD is high.