Negi Kritika, Saini Vasu, Kumar Shruti, Sharma Utkarsh, Jacob Nidhi Elizabeth
Pediatrics, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, IND.
Internal Medicine, Government Medical College Mahasamund, Kharora, IND.
Cureus. 2024 Sep 29;16(9):e70438. doi: 10.7759/cureus.70438. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder that is manageable but has no cure. Therefore, it is associated with parental stress, which is often not given importance. Early identification and holistic management of children with ASD are needed.
This prospective case-control study, conducted over 18 months, included 111 newly diagnosed autism cases (ages 2-9) from the Child Development Clinic at Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, India, diagnosed as per the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) criteria (DSM-V). Controls were 99 typically developing children from a well-baby clinic. Data collection involved administering the Autism Parenting Stress Scale and a predesigned questionnaire to both cases and controls. Parents with psychiatric or mental health issues were excluded.
Parents of children with autism exhibited significantly higher stress scores compared to parents of typically developing children. In our study, out of a total of 210 subjects, 52.9% were diagnosed with autism, while 47.1% were controls. Cases were analyzed based on household and socioeconomic background. It was found that 94.6% of the cases showed significant stress levels.
ASD significantly impacts parental stress, particularly among families from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and metropolitan areas. This study emphasizes the need for targeted support and interventions to address elevated stress levels and improve family dynamics, especially for parents of higher-functioning children.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种可控但无法治愈的疾病。因此，它与父母压力相关，而这种压力往往未得到重视。需要对自闭症谱系障碍儿童进行早期识别和全面管理。
这项前瞻性病例对照研究历时18个月，纳入了来自印度德拉敦市什里·马哈ant·因迪雷什医院儿童发育诊所的111例新诊断的自闭症病例（年龄2至9岁），这些病例根据国际临床流行病学网络（INCLEN）标准（DSM-V）进行诊断。对照组为来自一家健康婴儿诊所的99名发育正常的儿童。数据收集包括对病例组和对照组均进行自闭症育儿压力量表及一份预先设计的问卷的施测。排除有精神或心理健康问题的父母。
与发育正常儿童的父母相比，自闭症儿童的父母表现出显著更高的压力得分。在我们的研究中，在总共210名受试者中，52.9%被诊断为自闭症，而47.1%为对照组。根据家庭和社会经济背景对病例进行分析。发现94.6%的病例显示出显著的压力水平。
自闭症谱系障碍对父母压力有显著影响，尤其是在社会经济背景较高的家庭和大都市地区的家庭中。本研究强调需要有针对性的支持和干预措施，以应对升高的压力水平并改善家庭动态，特别是对于功能较高儿童的父母。
