title: Sex differences in co-occurring conditions of children with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: This study investigated differences in co-occurring diagnoses made in females compared to males with autism spectrum disorders in 913 children (746 males and 167 females) living in the United States with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis identified via caregiver-reported data from the National Survey of Children's Health 2007. The results indicated that overall, females had significantly fewer reported autism spectrum disorder co-occurring conditions than males. Females, compared to males, with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis had lower rates of past learning disorder, current mild learning disorder, and past anxiety diagnoses. Females with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were more likely than males to have been diagnosed with a speech problem in the past, while males with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were more likely than females to have a current diagnosis of a mild learning disability and a past diagnosis of learning disability. In addition, males with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis were more likely than females to have two or more co-occurring diagnoses. These findings provide insight into trends in sex differences in autism spectrum disorder co-occurring conditions.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Stacy
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zablotsky
authors.affiliation: University of Delaware, USA.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Yarger
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Barraw
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Makia
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA llee2@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Li-Ching
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; co-occurring conditions; sex