Marquis Sandra, Lunsky Yona, McGrail Kimberlyn M, Baumbusch Jennifer
School of Nursing University of British Columbia, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5, Canada.
Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, 1025 Queen St West, Toronto, ONT, M6J 1H4, Canada.
Disabil Health J. 2025 Jan;18(1):101684. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101684. Epub 2024 Aug 14.
The literature indicates that youth with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) may experience high rates of both physical and mental health issues compared to youth without FAS. However, there is little population level health data available for youth with FAS, particularly for youth transitioning from pediatric to adult healthcare services.
The objective of this study was to compare health care usage of youth with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to youth without any intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD).
This study used a retrospective cohort design and population-level administrative health data to examine five aspects of health care usage by youth with FAS and compare them to youth with no intellectual/developmental disability. The variables were medically required dental care, visits to emergency departments and visits for mental health issues. In addition, the study stratified data by age groups and examined the difference between youth aged 15-19 and youth aged 20-24.
Youth with FAS had higher adjusted odds of medically required dental care, visits to the emergency department and visits for anxiety/depression, psychotic illnesses and substance use disorders compared to youth with no IDD. The odds of a medically required dental visit, emergency department visit and visit for psychotic illness or substance use disorder were also higher for youth aged 20-24 years compared to youth aged 15-19 years.
These findings indicate that youth with FAS require urgent attention for each of the medically-related variables included in this study. The need for attention to their health care needs may increase as these youth transition from pediatric to adult health care services.
文献表明，与无胎儿酒精谱系障碍（FAS）的青少年相比，患有FAS的青少年可能经历更高的身心健康问题发生率。然而，针对患有FAS的青少年，几乎没有可用的人群层面健康数据，特别是对于从儿科医疗服务过渡到成人医疗服务的青少年。
本研究的目的是比较患有胎儿酒精谱系障碍的青少年与无任何智力/发育障碍（IDD）的青少年的医疗保健使用情况。
本研究采用回顾性队列设计和人群层面的行政健康数据，以检查患有FAS的青少年医疗保健使用的五个方面，并将其与无智力/发育障碍的青少年进行比较。变量包括医疗必需的牙科护理、急诊就诊和心理健康问题就诊。此外，研究按年龄组对数据进行分层，并检查15 - 19岁青少年与20 - 24岁青少年之间的差异。
与无IDD的青少年相比，患有FAS的青少年在医疗必需的牙科护理、急诊就诊以及焦虑/抑郁、精神病性疾病和物质使用障碍就诊方面的调整后几率更高。与15 - 19岁的青少年相比，20 - 24岁的青少年进行医疗必需的牙科就诊、急诊就诊以及精神病性疾病或物质使用障碍就诊的几率也更高。
这些发现表明，患有FAS的青少年在本研究中纳入的每个与医疗相关的变量方面都需要紧急关注。随着这些青少年从儿科医疗服务过渡到成人医疗服务，对他们医疗保健需求的关注需求可能会增加。
