TY - JOUR
T1 - Medical and behavioral correlates of depression history in children and adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder
AU - Greenlee, Jessica L.
AU - Mosley, Angela S.
AU - Shui, Amy M.
AU - Veenstra-VanderWeele, Jeremy
AU - Gotham, Katherine O.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
PY - 2016/2
Y1 - 2016/2
N2 - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Depression is commonly associated with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the life span. We sought to identify medical and behavioral problems associated with a history of a parent-reported diagnosis of depression in a large sample of school-aged children and adolescents with ASD. METHODS: A sample of 1272 participants (aged 6-17 years; mean [SD]: 9.56 [2.79] years) from the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network consortium were divided into "everdepressed" (n = 89) and "nondepressed" (n = 1183) groups on the basis of caregiver endorsement of children's current or previous diagnoses of depression. RESULTS: In total, 7.0% of children with ASD (4.8% of those aged 6-12 years and 20.2% of those aged 13-17 years) were reported to have a history of a depression diagnosis. Positive depression history was associated with greater chronological age, higher IQ, and Asperger disorder diagnosis. After controlling for age, IQ, and within-spectrum categorical diagnosis, the ever-depressed group exhibited significantly greater rates of seizure disorders (odds ratio = 2.64) and gastrointestinal problems (odds ratio = 2.59) and trend-level differences in aggression, somatic complaints, and social impairments. The groups did not differ in Autism severity, repetitive behaviors, sleep problems, eating problems, self-injurious behavior, or current intervention use. CONCLUSIONS: Co-occurring depression is a particularly common problem in higher-functioning older children within the Autism Treatment Network. Our findings indicate that children with ASD and a history of a depression diagnosis are more likely to also have co-occurring medical problems, although the presence and direction of causality is unclear.
AB - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Depression is commonly associated with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the life span. We sought to identify medical and behavioral problems associated with a history of a parent-reported diagnosis of depression in a large sample of school-aged children and adolescents with ASD. METHODS: A sample of 1272 participants (aged 6-17 years; mean [SD]: 9.56 [2.79] years) from the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network consortium were divided into "everdepressed" (n = 89) and "nondepressed" (n = 1183) groups on the basis of caregiver endorsement of children's current or previous diagnoses of depression. RESULTS: In total, 7.0% of children with ASD (4.8% of those aged 6-12 years and 20.2% of those aged 13-17 years) were reported to have a history of a depression diagnosis. Positive depression history was associated with greater chronological age, higher IQ, and Asperger disorder diagnosis. After controlling for age, IQ, and within-spectrum categorical diagnosis, the ever-depressed group exhibited significantly greater rates of seizure disorders (odds ratio = 2.64) and gastrointestinal problems (odds ratio = 2.59) and trend-level differences in aggression, somatic complaints, and social impairments. The groups did not differ in Autism severity, repetitive behaviors, sleep problems, eating problems, self-injurious behavior, or current intervention use. CONCLUSIONS: Co-occurring depression is a particularly common problem in higher-functioning older children within the Autism Treatment Network. Our findings indicate that children with ASD and a history of a depression diagnosis are more likely to also have co-occurring medical problems, although the presence and direction of causality is unclear.
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U2 - 10.1542/peds.2015-2851I
DO - 10.1542/peds.2015-2851I
M3 - Article
C2 - 26908466
AN - SCOPUS:84957794033
SN - 0031-4005
VL - 137
SP - S105-S114
JO - Pediatrics
JF - Pediatrics
ER -