Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder
Abstract Background The objective of this study is to gain new insights into the relationship between clinical signs and age at diagnosis. Method We utilize a new, large, online survey of 1743 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, and use multiple statistical approaches. These include regression a...
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doaj-e68a9baca6574c079be77fc793594b6d2021-03-11T11:39:28ZengBMCBMC Pediatrics1471-24312021-02-0121111410.1186/s12887-021-02551-0Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorderNachum Sicherman0Jimmy Charite1Gil Eyal2Magdalena Janecka3George Loewenstein4Kiely Law5Paul H. Lipkin6Alison R. Marvin7Joseph D. Buxbaum8Columbia University, Graduate School of BusinessColumbia University, Graduate School of BusinessDepartment of Sociology, Columbia UniversitySeaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiSocial and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon UniversityKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of MedicineKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of MedicineKennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthSeaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Mindich Institute for Child Health and Development, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiAbstract Background The objective of this study is to gain new insights into the relationship between clinical signs and age at diagnosis. Method We utilize a new, large, online survey of 1743 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, and use multiple statistical approaches. These include regression analysis, factor analysis, and machine learning (regression tree). Results We find that clinical signs that most strongly predict early diagnosis are not necessarily specific to autism, but rather those that initiate the process that eventually leads to an ASD diagnosis. Given the high correlations between symptoms, only a few signs are found to be important in predicting early diagnosis. For several clinical signs we find that their presence and intensity are positively correlated with delayed diagnosis (e.g., tantrums and aggression). Even though our data are drawn from parents’ retrospective accounts, we provide evidence that parental recall bias and/or hindsight bias did not play a significant role in shaping our results. Conclusion In the subset of children without early deficits in communication, diagnosis is delayed, and this might be improved if more attention will be given to clinical signs that are not necessarily considered as ASD symptoms. Our findings also suggest that careful attention should be paid to children showing excessive tantrums or aggression, as these behaviors may interfere with an early ASD diagnoses.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02551-0Autism spectrum disorderClinical signsSymptomsEarly diagnosisDiagnosis ageRegression trees |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nachum Sicherman Jimmy Charite Gil Eyal Magdalena Janecka George Loewenstein Kiely Law Paul H. Lipkin Alison R. Marvin Joseph D. Buxbaum |
spellingShingle |
Nachum Sicherman Jimmy Charite Gil Eyal Magdalena Janecka George Loewenstein Kiely Law Paul H. Lipkin Alison R. Marvin Joseph D. Buxbaum Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder BMC Pediatrics Autism spectrum disorder Clinical signs Symptoms Early diagnosis Diagnosis age Regression trees |
author_facet |
Nachum Sicherman Jimmy Charite Gil Eyal Magdalena Janecka George Loewenstein Kiely Law Paul H. Lipkin Alison R. Marvin Joseph D. Buxbaum |
author_sort |
Nachum Sicherman |
title |
Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder |
title_short |
Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder |
title_full |
Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder |
title_fullStr |
Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder |
title_full_unstemmed |
Clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism Spectrum disorder |
title_sort |
clinical signs associated with earlier diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorder |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Pediatrics |
issn |
1471-2431 |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
Abstract Background The objective of this study is to gain new insights into the relationship between clinical signs and age at diagnosis. Method We utilize a new, large, online survey of 1743 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, and use multiple statistical approaches. These include regression analysis, factor analysis, and machine learning (regression tree). Results We find that clinical signs that most strongly predict early diagnosis are not necessarily specific to autism, but rather those that initiate the process that eventually leads to an ASD diagnosis. Given the high correlations between symptoms, only a few signs are found to be important in predicting early diagnosis. For several clinical signs we find that their presence and intensity are positively correlated with delayed diagnosis (e.g., tantrums and aggression). Even though our data are drawn from parents’ retrospective accounts, we provide evidence that parental recall bias and/or hindsight bias did not play a significant role in shaping our results. Conclusion In the subset of children without early deficits in communication, diagnosis is delayed, and this might be improved if more attention will be given to clinical signs that are not necessarily considered as ASD symptoms. Our findings also suggest that careful attention should be paid to children showing excessive tantrums or aggression, as these behaviors may interfere with an early ASD diagnoses. |
topic |
Autism spectrum disorder Clinical signs Symptoms Early diagnosis Diagnosis age Regression trees |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02551-0 |
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