Arinda Anita, Nakasujja Noeline, Odokonyero Raymond
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
S Afr J Psychiatr. 2021 Jan 28;27:1548. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1548. eCollection 2021.
Children with neurological disorders are more likely to present with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms and get an ASD diagnosis. Despite the large burden of childhood neurological disorders in Uganda, there is limited information on ASD amongst children with neurological disorders in Uganda.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with ASD symptoms amongst children attending the paediatric neurology clinic.
The study was conducted at the paediatric neurology clinic of Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda.
This was a cross-sectional study of 318 children aged 2-9 years. After obtaining consent, a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Social Communication Questionnaire were administered to the caregivers of the children. Additional questions were administered to assess the prenatal, birth and postnatal characteristics of the children. Sample characteristics were described using frequencies and means. Bivariate analysis was carried out using chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess which factors were independently associated with ASD symptoms.
The mean age of the children was 5 years and 58.2% were males. The prevalence of significant ASD symptoms was found to be 45%. Factors negatively associated with significant ASD symptoms were female sex (odds ratio [OR] 0.48 [95% CI 0.24, 0.98]) and ability to speak (OR 0.09 [95% CI 0.04, 0.2]). The history of delayed developmental milestones was positively associated with significant ASD symptoms (OR 3.3 [95% CI 1.59, 6.84]).
The prevalence of ASD symptoms is high in children with neurological disorders. Children, especially those with delayed developmental milestones, should routinely be screened for ASD.
患有神经疾病的儿童更有可能出现自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）症状并被诊断为ASD。尽管乌干达儿童神经疾病负担沉重，但关于乌干达神经疾病儿童中ASD的信息有限。
本研究的目的是确定在儿科神经科门诊就诊的儿童中ASD症状的患病率及相关因素。
该研究在乌干达穆拉戈国家转诊医院的儿科神经科门诊进行。
这是一项对318名2至9岁儿童的横断面研究。在获得同意后，向儿童的照料者发放了一份社会人口学调查问卷和社会沟通调查问卷。还提出了其他问题以评估儿童的产前、出生和产后特征。使用频率和均值描述样本特征。采用卡方检验和费舍尔精确检验进行双变量分析。使用多元逻辑回归模型评估哪些因素与ASD症状独立相关。
儿童的平均年龄为5岁，58.2%为男性。发现有明显ASD症状的患病率为45%。与明显ASD症状呈负相关的因素为女性（比值比[OR]0.48[95%置信区间0.24，0.98]）和说话能力（OR 0.09[95%置信区间0.04，0.2]）。发育里程碑延迟史与明显ASD症状呈正相关（OR 3.3[95%置信区间1.59，6.84]）。
神经疾病儿童中ASD症状的患病率很高。儿童，尤其是那些发育里程碑延迟的儿童，应常规筛查ASD。
