Autism spectrum traits in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
OBJECTIVE
Assess the prevalence of autistic traits (AST) in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and relate them to OCD co-morbidity and compare them with published normative data.


METHODS
Pediatric patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (n=109) according to the DSM-IV were studied using parent ratings of the Autistic Symptom/Syndrome Questionnaire to assess AST symptoms as a continuous rather than categorical trait. The KSADS, a semi-structured psychiatric interview, was used for the psychiatric diagnostic evaluation. Also, the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale was used to assess OCD severity and other clinical features.


RESULTS
AST was common among our patients. Symptom scores were highest in cases with co-morbid Autistic Spectrum Disorders, but cases with other co-morbidities as tics/Tourette and attention/behavioral disorders also scored higher. All sub-groups, including OCD without these co-morbidities scored higher than the Swedish normative group. Using ANOVA, co-morbid ASD and tics/Tourette (plus a term for gender by tic interaction indicating that girls with tics scored high, otherwise low) and pathological doubt contributed (R2=.41) to the AST-traits, while OCD severity and co-morbid anxiety- and depressive disorders did not.


CONCLUSIONS
AST traits are prevalent in OCD and seem to be intricately associated with the co-morbidities as well as the OCD syndrome itself. The findings might have implication for our nosological understanding of OCD which currently is discussed.
Ivarsson
Tord
T
Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway, Gullhaug Torg 4B, Oslo, Norway. tord.ivarsson@r-bup.no
Melin
Karin
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D035061:Control Groups; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology