Lisa D Wiggins1, Eric Rubenstein2, Gayle Windham3, Brian Barger4, Lisa Croen5, Nicole Dowling6, Ellen Giarelli7, Susan Levy8, Eric Moody9, Gnakub Soke6, Victoria Fields6, Laura Schieve6. 1. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States. Electronic address: lwiggins@cdc.gov. 2. Boston University, Department of Epidemiology, Boston, MA, United States. 3. California Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Investigations Branch, Richmond, CA, United States. 4. Georgia State University, School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, United States. 5. Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Division of Research, Autism Research Program, Oakland, CA, United States. 6. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States. 7. College of Nursing and Health Professionals, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States. 8. Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States. 9. University of Wyoming, Wyoming Institute for Disabilities College of Health Sciences, Laramie, WY, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research in school-aged children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has found sex-based differences in behavioral, developmental, and diagnostic outcomes. These findings have not been consistently replicated in preschool-aged children. We examined sex-based differences in a large sample of 2-5-year-old children with ASD symptoms in a multi-site community-based study. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Based on a comprehensive evaluation, children were classified as having ASD (n = 1480, 81.55 % male) or subthreshold ASD characteristics (n = 593, 70.15 % male). Outcomes were behavior problems, developmental abilities, performance on ASD screening and diagnostic tests, and parent-reported developmental conditions diagnosed before study enrollment. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: We found no statistically significant sex differences in behavioral functioning, developmental functioning, performance on an ASD screening test, and developmental conditions diagnosed before study enrollment among children with ASD or subthreshold ASD characteristics. Males in both study groups had more parent reported restricted interests and repetitive behaviors than females, but these differences were small in magnitude and not clinically meaningful. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Preschool males and females who showed risk for ASD were more similar than different in the outcomes assessed in our study. Future research could examine sex-based differences in ASD phenotypes as children age.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research in school-aged children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has found sex-based differences in behavioral, developmental, and diagnostic outcomes. These findings have not been consistently replicated in preschool-aged children. We examined sex-based differences in a large sample of 2-5-year-old children with ASD symptoms in a multi-site community-based study. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Based on a comprehensive evaluation, children were classified as having ASD (n = 1480, 81.55 % male) or subthreshold ASD characteristics (n = 593, 70.15 % male). Outcomes were behavior problems, developmental abilities, performance on ASD screening and diagnostic tests, and parent-reported developmental conditions diagnosed before study enrollment. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: We found no statistically significant sex differences in behavioral functioning, developmental functioning, performance on an ASD screening test, and developmental conditions diagnosed before study enrollment among children with ASD or subthreshold ASD characteristics. Males in both study groups had more parent reported restricted interests and repetitive behaviors than females, but these differences were small in magnitude and not clinically meaningful. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Preschool males and females who showed risk for ASD were more similar than different in the outcomes assessed in our study. Future research could examine sex-based differences in ASD phenotypes as children age.
Authors: Paul T Shattuck; Maureen Durkin; Matthew Maenner; Craig Newschaffer; David S Mandell; Lisa Wiggins; Li-Ching Lee; Catherine Rice; Ellen Giarelli; Russell Kirby; Jon Baio; Jennifer Pinto-Martin; Christopher Cuniff Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2009-05 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: Matthew J Maenner; Kelly A Shaw; Jon Baio; Anita Washington; Mary Patrick; Monica DiRienzo; Deborah L Christensen; Lisa D Wiggins; Sydney Pettygrove; Jennifer G Andrews; Maya Lopez; Allison Hudson; Thaer Baroud; Yvette Schwenk; Tiffany White; Cordelia Robinson Rosenberg; Li-Ching Lee; Rebecca A Harrington; Margaret Huston; Amy Hewitt; Amy Esler; Jennifer Hall-Lande; Jenny N Poynter; Libby Hallas-Muchow; John N Constantino; Robert T Fitzgerald; Walter Zahorodny; Josephine Shenouda; Julie L Daniels; Zachary Warren; Alison Vehorn; Angelica Salinas; Maureen S Durkin; Patricia M Dietz Journal: MMWR Surveill Summ Date: 2020-03-27