Autism Research and Treatment

Research Article

Parent Report of Community Psychiatric Comorbid Diagnoses in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Table 1

Characteristics* of children with ASD, aged 5–18 y by parent-reported lifetime history of psychiatric comorbidity ( 𝑛 = 4 3 4 3 ).
No psychiatric comorbidityAny psychiatric comorbidity† 𝑃 value (chi-square or Wilcoxon rank)
N (%)2213 (50.9)2130 (49.1)
Gender, %
 Male ( 𝑛 = 3 6 2 5 )50.949.1.861
 Female ( 𝑛 = 7 2 1 )51.348.9
Median age (y)8.911.7<.001
Current autism spectrum disorder**, %<.001
 Autism/autistic disorder ( 𝑛 = 2 1 6 1 )62.937.1
 PDD-NOS ( 𝑛 = 1 0 2 4 )50.249.9
 Asperger syndrome ( 𝑛 = 1 1 5 8 )29.370.8
 Adjusted SRS Score ( 𝑛 = 2 3 7 3 )85.288.0<.001
Intellectual disability**, %<.001
 Not reported ( 𝑛 = 3 1 5 6 )52.147.9
 Present ( 𝑛 = 1 1 7 0 )47.452.6
History of specific skill lossa**, %<.001
 No loss ( 𝑛 = 2 9 3 0 )47.952.9
 Skill loss ( 𝑛 = 1 4 1 3 )59.341.1
Race.663
 White ( 𝑛 = 3 9 6 7 )50.749.3
 Black/African-American ( 𝑛 = 1 3 9 )54.046.0
 Asian American ( 𝑛 = 5 4 )55.644.4
 Other ( 𝑛 = 1 8 3 )53.646.5
Ethnicity**, %.004
 Hispanic ( 𝑛 = 3 3 0 )58.541.5
 Not Hispanic ( 𝑛 = 4 0 1 3 )50.349.7
Maternal education level, %.720
 High school or less ( 𝑛 = 5 0 2 )51.848.2
 Some college ( 𝑛 = 1 5 6 1 )49.750.3
 College graduate ( 𝑛 = 1 9 8 7 )50.250.0
Maternal psychiatric history, % ( 𝑛 = 4 0 5 5 )<.001
 No reported history ( 𝑛 = 1 8 0 2 )59.640.4
 History of psychiatric illnessb ( 𝑛 = 2 2 5 3 )42.757.3
Initial evaluator**  %<.001
 Psychiatrist or psychologist ( 𝑛 = 1 3 4 3 )39.260.8
 Other ( 𝑛 = 2 9 9 9 )56.243.8
Region**, %<.001
 West ( 𝑛 = 7 2 5 )55.944.2
 All other regions ( 𝑛 = 3 6 1 8 )50.050.0
AD/HD or ADD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit disorder, respectively; SRS = Social Responsiveness Scale.
aModerate-severe loss of communication and/or social skills between ages 12 and 36 months.
bIncludes any anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, AD/HD or ADD, and/or schizophrenia.
†Any of the following comorbidities reported at the time of data collection: anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, AD/HD or ADD, or schizophrenia.
--23/4343 had history of schizophrenia (0.5%).