Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study

Received: 2 November 2023     Accepted: 22 November 2023     Published: 18 December 2023
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Abstract

Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is marked by a persistent deficit in social interaction and social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors/ fixated interests or activities. Individuals with ASD vary in language ability, ranging from absent speech to fluent language, and in cognitive development, ranging from profound intellectual disability to above-average intellectual functioning. Individuals may also show associated medical comorbidities including epilepsy and minor physical anomalies, as well as psychiatric comorbidities, thus showing a wide clinical heterogeneity. Methodology: This study prospectively carried out in Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital, CDC, from January 2017 to December 2017. Total 224 Autism cases, 18m-16years are evaluated to find out comorbidities in addition to core features by preformed questionnaire. First of all, those baby attended in CDC (Child Development centre) with speech delay, not respond to name calling, lack of eye contact, restricted behavior or interest were screened by M-CHAT (<4 years), SCQ (4years or more). General developmental assessment (GDA) was done in all screening positive cases along with fulfilling DSM5 criteria. All data are coded and computer recorded. Results: Out of 224 children, 90% are within 2-5 years of age, male 78%, female 22%. urban 77%, rural 23%, 90% fall into middle and upper income group. Comorbidities were found in 66% cases. Psychological comorbidity is more than medical comorbidity (100% Vs 70%). Many patients have more than one comorbidities as well as both medical and psychological comorbidities. Among the co-morbidities minor behavior problem 56.1%, feeding problem20.5%, constipation19.4%, ADHD-14.5%, sleep difficulties 13.8%,, self injurious behavior 10.8%, malnutrition 9.1%, phobia 7.3%, epilepsy 4.8%, OCD-4.8%, anxiety 6.5%, diarrhoea 2.4%. Conclusion: Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. Its management is very much challenging. Without addressing comorbidities, management of autism remains incomplete.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16
Page(s) 226-230
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Autism, Medical Comorbidity, Psychological Comorbidity

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sultana, R., Akter, K., Nahar, S., Haque, S., Alam, I., et al. (2023). Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study. American Journal of Pediatrics, 9(4), 226-230. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16

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    ACS Style

    Sultana, R.; Akter, K.; Nahar, S.; Haque, S.; Alam, I., et al. Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study. Am. J. Pediatr. 2023, 9(4), 226-230. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16

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    AMA Style

    Sultana R, Akter K, Nahar S, Haque S, Alam I, et al. Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study. Am J Pediatr. 2023;9(4):226-230. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16,
      author = {Razia Sultana and Khaleda Akter and Samsun Nahar and Saidul Haque and Insanul Alam and Suma Ikram},
      title = {Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {226-230},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20230904.16},
      abstract = {Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is marked by a persistent deficit in social interaction and social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors/ fixated interests or activities. Individuals with ASD vary in language ability, ranging from absent speech to fluent language, and in cognitive development, ranging from profound intellectual disability to above-average intellectual functioning. Individuals may also show associated medical comorbidities including epilepsy and minor physical anomalies, as well as psychiatric comorbidities, thus showing a wide clinical heterogeneity. Methodology: This study prospectively carried out in Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital, CDC, from January 2017 to December 2017. Total 224 Autism cases, 18m-16years are evaluated to find out comorbidities in addition to core features by preformed questionnaire. First of all, those baby attended in CDC (Child Development centre) with speech delay, not respond to name calling, lack of eye contact, restricted behavior or interest were screened by M-CHAT (Results: Out of 224 children, 90% are within 2-5 years of age, male 78%, female 22%. urban 77%, rural 23%, 90% fall into middle and upper income group. Comorbidities were found in 66% cases. Psychological comorbidity is more than medical comorbidity (100% Vs 70%). Many patients have more than one comorbidities as well as both medical and psychological comorbidities. Among the co-morbidities minor behavior problem 56.1%, feeding problem20.5%, constipation19.4%, ADHD-14.5%, sleep difficulties 13.8%,, self injurious behavior 10.8%, malnutrition 9.1%, phobia 7.3%, epilepsy 4.8%, OCD-4.8%, anxiety 6.5%, diarrhoea 2.4%. Conclusion: Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. Its management is very much challenging. Without addressing comorbidities, management of autism remains incomplete.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Comorbidities of Autism, Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital Based Study
    AU  - Razia Sultana
    AU  - Khaleda Akter
    AU  - Samsun Nahar
    AU  - Saidul Haque
    AU  - Insanul Alam
    AU  - Suma Ikram
    Y1  - 2023/12/18
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    SP  - 226
    EP  - 230
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230904.16
    AB  - Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is marked by a persistent deficit in social interaction and social communication and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors/ fixated interests or activities. Individuals with ASD vary in language ability, ranging from absent speech to fluent language, and in cognitive development, ranging from profound intellectual disability to above-average intellectual functioning. Individuals may also show associated medical comorbidities including epilepsy and minor physical anomalies, as well as psychiatric comorbidities, thus showing a wide clinical heterogeneity. Methodology: This study prospectively carried out in Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital, CDC, from January 2017 to December 2017. Total 224 Autism cases, 18m-16years are evaluated to find out comorbidities in addition to core features by preformed questionnaire. First of all, those baby attended in CDC (Child Development centre) with speech delay, not respond to name calling, lack of eye contact, restricted behavior or interest were screened by M-CHAT (Results: Out of 224 children, 90% are within 2-5 years of age, male 78%, female 22%. urban 77%, rural 23%, 90% fall into middle and upper income group. Comorbidities were found in 66% cases. Psychological comorbidity is more than medical comorbidity (100% Vs 70%). Many patients have more than one comorbidities as well as both medical and psychological comorbidities. Among the co-morbidities minor behavior problem 56.1%, feeding problem20.5%, constipation19.4%, ADHD-14.5%, sleep difficulties 13.8%,, self injurious behavior 10.8%, malnutrition 9.1%, phobia 7.3%, epilepsy 4.8%, OCD-4.8%, anxiety 6.5%, diarrhoea 2.4%. Conclusion: Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. Its management is very much challenging. Without addressing comorbidities, management of autism remains incomplete.
    
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Paediatrics, Medical College for Women & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Paediatrics, Ahsania Mission Cancer & General Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Paediatric Neurology, National Institute of Neuroscience & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Paediatrics, Medical College for Women & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Orthopedics, Medical College for Women & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  • Department of Paediatrics, East West Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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