ERIC Number: EJ1101828
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Description of Medical Conditions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Follow-Up of the 1980s Utah/UCLA Autism Epidemiologic Study
Jones, Kyle B.; Cottle, Kristina; Bakian, Amanda; Farley, Megan; Bilder, Deborah; Coon, Hilary; McMahon, William M.
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v20 n5 p551-561 Jul 2016
This study describes medical conditions experienced by a population-based cohort of adults with autism spectrum disorder whose significant developmental concerns were apparent during childhood. As part of a 25-year outcome study of autism spectrum disorder in adulthood, medical histories were collected on 92 participants (N = 69 males) who were first ascertained as children in the mid-1980s, 11 of whom were deceased at the time of follow-up. Questionnaires queried medical symptoms, disorders, hospitalizations, surgeries, and medication use. Median age at follow-up was 36 years (range: 23.5-50.5 years), and intellectual disability co-occurred in 62%. The most common medical conditions were seizures, obesity, insomnia, and constipation. The median number of medical conditions per person was 11. Increased medical comorbidity was associated with female gender (p = 0.01) and obesity (p = 0.03), but not intellectual disability (p = 0.79). Adults in this cohort of autism spectrum disorder first ascertained in the 1980s experience a high number of chronic medical conditions, regardless of intellectual ability. Understanding of these conditions commonly experienced should direct community-based and medical primary care for this population.
Descriptors: Adults, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Developmental Disabilities, Child Development, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Questionnaires, Hospitals, Surgery, Drug Therapy, Age Differences, Comorbidity, Intellectual Disability, Seizures, Obesity, Sleep, Physiology, Gender Differences, Chronic Illness, Longitudinal Studies, Epidemiology, Intelligence Tests, Cognitive Ability, Statistical Analysis, Nonparametric Statistics, Diseases
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Utah
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01MH094400
Author Affiliations: N/A