Jessica L Greenlee1, Angela S Mosley2, Amy M Shui3, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele4, Katherine O Gotham5. 1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia; 2. Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; 3. Massachusetts General Hospital Biostatistics Center, Boston, Massachusetts; and. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; katherine.gotham@vanderbilt.edu.
Abstract
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 "ever-depressed" (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.
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 "ever-depressed" (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.
Authors: Christopher Lopata; Jennifer A Toomey; Jeffery D Fox; Martin A Volker; Sabrina Y Chow; Marcus L Thomeer; Gloria K Lee; Jonathan D Rodgers; Christin A McDonald; Audrey M Smerbeck Journal: J Abnorm Child Psychol Date: 2010-08
Authors: Ovsanna T Leyfer; Susan E Folstein; Susan Bacalman; Naomi O Davis; Elena Dinh; Jubel Morgan; Helen Tager-Flusberg; Janet E Lainhart Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2006-10
Authors: Sarah Marler; Bradley J Ferguson; Evon Batey Lee; Brittany Peters; Kent C Williams; Erin McDonnell; Eric A Macklin; Pat Levitt; Kara Gross Margolis; David Q Beversdorf; Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2017-06