Brief Report: Self-Injurious Behaviors in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Other Developmental Delays and Disorders

G N Soke; S A Rosenberg; C R Rosenberg; R A Vasa; L-C Lee; C DiGuiseppi

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3490-4

Brief Report: Self-Injurious Behaviors in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to Other Developmental Delays and Disorders

J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Jul;48(7):2558-2566. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3490-4.

Authors

G N Soke^{1

2}, S A Rosenberg³, C R Rosenberg^{3

4}, R A Vasa⁵, L-C Lee⁶, C DiGuiseppi⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. [email protected].
² National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS E-86, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA. [email protected].
³ Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
⁵ School of Medicine, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.

Abstract

We compared the prevalence of self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in preschoolers aged 30-68 months with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 691) versus other developmental delays and disorders (DD) (n = 977) accounting for sociodemographic, cognitive, and medical factors. SIB prevalence was higher in ASD versus all DD [adjusted odds-ratio (aOR) 2.13 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.53, 2.97)]. In subgroup analyses, SIB prevalence was higher in ASD versus DD without ASD symptoms [aOR 4.42 (95% CI 2.66, 7.33)], but was similar between ASD and DD with ASD symptoms [aOR 1.09 (95% CI 0.68, 1.77)]. We confirmed higher prevalence of SIB in ASD versus DD, independent of confounders. In children with DD, SIB prevalence increased with more ASD symptoms. These findings are informative to clinicians, researchers, and policymakers.

Keywords: Autism; Autism spectrum disorder; Developmental delays and disorders; Prevalence; Self-injurious behaviors.

MeSH terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder / complications*
Child, Preschool
Developmental Disabilities / complications*
Female
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Self-Injurious Behavior / epidemiology*

Abstract

MeSH terms

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