Zhou Wensu, Liu Dan, Xiong Xiyue, Xu Huilan
Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University.
NHC Key Laboratory of Birth Defect for Research and Prevention, Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Aug;98(32):e16794. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000016794.
To investigate the emotional problems (depressive and anxiety symptoms) of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and explore the role of the mother's socioeconomic status (SES) and the core symptoms of the child on the mother's emotional problems.This cross-sectional survey was performed in 180 mothers of children with ASD in Chang Sha city of China. The 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were used to assess the anxiety and depressive symptoms of the mothers of the autistic children. The education level and annual family income, as well as occupation, were be selected as components of the mother's SES. Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) were used for the evaluation of the core symptoms of the children. A general information questionnaire was also used. The ordinal regression was used to examine the effect of the SES and children's core symptoms on maternal emotional problems.The valid response rate was 92.7% (167 of 180 questionnaires were returned). Of the mothers studied, 72.5% and 80.2% had depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively, and 67.1% suffered from both symptoms. Mother's SES was observed to be unrelated to maternal anxiety symptoms (P >.05). Only 1 component of the SES (junior high school education level) was related to depressive symptoms (OR = 0.31, 95% CI 0.12-0.80). SRS score under 115 (OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.93) of autistic children was a protective factor against maternal anxiety symptoms. The borderline and mild behavioral problems (OR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.19-0.99; OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.22-0.94, respectively) of autistic children were protective factors against maternal depressive symptoms.Mothers of autistic children generally exhibited high levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. The core symptoms of the autistic children were observed to be strongly associated with both maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms. Improvements in the core symptoms of children with ASD may help reduce maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms to some extent.
为调查自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患儿母亲的情绪问题（抑郁和焦虑症状），并探讨母亲的社会经济地位（SES）及孩子的核心症状对母亲情绪问题的影响。在中国长沙市对180名ASD患儿的母亲进行了这项横断面调查。使用7项广泛性焦虑障碍量表（GAD - 7）和9项患者健康问卷（PHQ - 9）评估自闭症患儿母亲的焦虑和抑郁症状。选取母亲的教育水平、家庭年收入以及职业作为其SES的组成部分。使用自闭症行为量表（ABC）和社会反应量表（SRS）评估孩子的核心症状。还使用了一份一般信息问卷。采用有序回归分析来检验SES和孩子的核心症状对母亲情绪问题的影响。有效回复率为92.7%（180份问卷中返回了167份）。在研究的母亲中，分别有72.5%和80.2%有抑郁和焦虑症状，67.1%同时患有这两种症状。观察发现母亲的SES与母亲的焦虑症状无关（P>0.05）。SES中只有一个组成部分（初中教育水平）与抑郁症状相关（OR = 0.31，95%CI 0.12 - 0.80）。自闭症患儿的SRS得分低于115（OR = 0.38，95%CI 0.16 - 0.93）是母亲焦虑症状的一个保护因素。自闭症患儿的边缘性和轻度行为问题（分别为OR = 0.43，95%CI 0.19 - 0.99；OR = 0.45，95%CI 0.22 - 0.94）是母亲抑郁症状的保护因素。自闭症患儿的母亲普遍表现出较高水平 的焦虑和抑郁症状。观察发现自闭症患儿的核心症状与母亲的焦虑和抑郁症状都密切相关。ASD患儿核心症状的改善可能在一定程度上有助于减轻母亲的焦虑和抑郁症状。
