Psychiatric and Medical Profiles of Autistic Adults in the SPARK Cohort

• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04414-6
• Publication Date: 2020-02-24T17:07:58Z
• Authors: Eric Fombonne; LeeAnne Green Snyder; Amy Daniels; Pamela Feliciano; Wendy Chung
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Adolescent; Mental Disorders; 05 social sciences; Age Factors; 16. Peace & justice; Anxiety Disorders; United States; 3. Good health; Cohort Studies; Young Adult; Sex Factors; Intellectual Disability; Surveys and Questionnaires; Humans; Female; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Autistic Disorder

This study examined lifetime medical and psychiatric morbidity reported by caregivers of 2917 autistic adults participating in the US research cohort SPARK. Participants were 78.4% male, 47.3% had intellectual disability, and 32.1% had persistent language impairments. Childhood language disorders (59.7%), speech/articulation problems (32.8%), sleep (39.4%) and eating problems (29.4%), motor delays (22.8%) and history of seizure (15.5%) were the most frequently reported clinical features. Over two thirds (67.2%) had been diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorders: 41.1%; ADHD: 38.7%). Compared to verbally fluent participants, those with language impairments had lower frequencies of almost all psychiatric disorders. Female sex and older age were associated with higher medical and psychiatric morbidity.