title: Prospective long-term follow-up of patients with pervasive developmental disorders.
abstract: We conducted a 12-year prospective study of children with pervasive developmental disorders from North Dakota. In a prospective longitudinal follow-up study, of 59 patients, we found 52 patients with pervasive developmental disorders (88%). Ten (17%) declined to participate. We collected data on 42 (71%) of the original cohort. Of the 42 subjects, 1 died (1.7%). The other 41 were followed up for 492 person-years. Severity scores for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) declined 20% and for DSM-IV 23%. Global Assessment of Functioning improved 19%, and the average number of comorbidities decreased 45%. Thirty-seven percent of patients improved in all four measures, whereas only 5% improved in only one measure. Pervasive developmental disorders are developmental disorders with a long-term course of limited improvement for most patients. Male subjects demonstrated substantially more variability in improvement but, overall, demonstrated more improvement than female subjects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND, USA. laburd@medicine.nodak.edu
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burd
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kerbeshian
authors.forename: Alyssia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Westerland
authors.forename: Janelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Labine
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: Marilyn G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Klug
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome