TY - JOUR
T1 - Health Condition Co-Morbidities in Children with Autism and Their Association with Challenging Behavior
AU - Kennedy, Craig H.
AU - Huedo-Medina, Tania B.
AU - Twachtman-Bassett, Jennifer
AU - Kalsner, Louisa
AU - Areny-Joval, Remei
AU - Eigsti, Inge Marie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Objectives: In this cohort study, we assessed the occurrence of health conditions in children with autism, assessed whether clusters of health conditions were present, and whether somatic conditions were associated with challenging behaviors. Method: Medical histories and adaptive/maladaptive behavior reports of 246 children with autism were extracted from an electronic database and subjected to cluster analyses. Two-thirds of the participants had one or more serious health conditions and one-third had two or more health co-morbidities. Results: Analyses revealed three significant clusters of health conditions: (a) allergies/sinus infections and respiratory illness/not asthma; (b) gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), constipation, and epilepsy/seizures; and (c) headache/migraine and sleep dysregulation. Group comparisons and effect sizes of individual health conditions showed associations among (i) GERD and aggression and self-injury and (ii) sleep dysregulation and aggression and self-injury. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with autism may have higher rates of common health conditions than found in the general pediatric population, that health conditions may cluster among individuals, and that some health conditions (GERD and disordered sleep) were associated with increased levels of self-injury and aggression. These data call for more attention to the mechanisms contributing to health conditions, and their cooccurrence with challenging behaviors, in children with autism.
AB - Objectives: In this cohort study, we assessed the occurrence of health conditions in children with autism, assessed whether clusters of health conditions were present, and whether somatic conditions were associated with challenging behaviors. Method: Medical histories and adaptive/maladaptive behavior reports of 246 children with autism were extracted from an electronic database and subjected to cluster analyses. Two-thirds of the participants had one or more serious health conditions and one-third had two or more health co-morbidities. Results: Analyses revealed three significant clusters of health conditions: (a) allergies/sinus infections and respiratory illness/not asthma; (b) gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), constipation, and epilepsy/seizures; and (c) headache/migraine and sleep dysregulation. Group comparisons and effect sizes of individual health conditions showed associations among (i) GERD and aggression and self-injury and (ii) sleep dysregulation and aggression and self-injury. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children with autism may have higher rates of common health conditions than found in the general pediatric population, that health conditions may cluster among individuals, and that some health conditions (GERD and disordered sleep) were associated with increased levels of self-injury and aggression. These data call for more attention to the mechanisms contributing to health conditions, and their cooccurrence with challenging behaviors, in children with autism.
KW - Autism
KW - Autism spectrum disorder
KW - Behavioral disorders
KW - Central nervous system disorders
KW - Challenging behavior
KW - Co-morbidities
KW - Gastrointestinal disorders
KW - Health conditions
KW - Immune system disorders
KW - Sleep dysregulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185147801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s41252-024-00395-0
DO - 10.1007/s41252-024-00395-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85185147801
SN - 2366-7532
JO - Advances in neurodevelopmental disorders
JF - Advances in neurodevelopmental disorders
ER -