Prevalence of Anxiety in Children Suffering from Autism Attending the Out-Patient Department of a Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders are common neurocognitive disease which are multifactorial, begins at early childhood, persists throughout the life in a non-remitting course and may be associated with multidimensional behavioural comorbidities. Social anxiety (SA), also known as social phobia, is especially common among children with ASD with prevalence estimates reported to be as high as 50%.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of anxiety among children suffering from autism spectrum disorder and its associated factors

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted among 30 children with autism spectrum disorder and 30 children without any overt psychiatric disorders (control group) attending the psychiatric out-patient department of a tertiary care hospital. Data was collected after using a structured, pre-designed and pre-tested schedule which consisted of questions on socio demographic profile, M-CHAT screening tool and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to diagnose and confirm autism spectrum disorder and its severity, respectively. It also included the ‘RCADS’ scale to diagnose the presence of anxiety among the study participants.

Results: The baseline characteristics of both the test and control groups were found to be comparable. The mean age of the test group and control groups were 6.9± 2.06 years and 7.23 ± 2.37 years respectively. More than half (66.7%) of both the groups were males. The prevalence of anxiety was found to be significantly higher among the children with ASD compared to their controls (53.3% vs 16.7%). Duration of ASD was found to be significantly associated with anxiety, and prevalence of anxiety was higher among children having the disease for longer duration.