title: The Effect of Age on the Prevalence of Obesity among US Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: We sought to assess the association between age and the prevalence of obesity among children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health.
  
  
  
  Analyses were restricted to 43,777 children, ages 10-17, with valid measures of parent-reported weight, height, and ASD status. Exploratory analyses describe the impact of sex, race/ethnicity, and household income on the relationship between age and obesity in ASD.
  
  
  
  Although the overall prevalence of obesity among children with ASD was significantly (p < 0.001) higher than among children without ASD (23.1% vs. 14.1%, 95% confidence interval for difference 3.6 to 14.4), child age significantly (p = 0.035) modified this difference. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for sex, race/ethnicity, and household income, the odds of obesity among children with ASD compared with children without ASD increased monotonically from ages 10 to 17 years. This pattern arose due to a consistently high prevalence of obesity among children with ASD and a decline in prevalence with advancing age among children without ASD. These findings were replicated using a propensity score analysis. Exploratory analyses suggested that the age-related change in obesity disparity between children with and without ASD may be further modified by sex, race/ethnicity, and household income.
  
  
  
  The patterns of prevalence observed with increasing age among children with and without ASD were unexpected. A better understanding of the etiological and maintenance factors for obesity in youth with ASD is needed to develop interventions tailored to the specific needs of these children.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine , Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Aviva
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Must
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine , Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Misha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eliasziw
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine , Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, E.K. Shriver Center , UMass Medical School, Charlestown, MA.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Curtin
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Tanja V E
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Kral
authors.affiliation: 4 The Research Center for Health Care Decision-Making, Inc. , Wyndmoor, PA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.affiliation: 5 HealthPartners Institute , Bloomington, MN.
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University School of Medicine , Durham, NC.
authors.forename: Linmarie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sikich
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston , Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Heidi I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Stanish
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, E.K. Shriver Center , UMass Medical School, Charlestown, MA.|8 Department of Health Sciences, Boston University , Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Linda G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bandini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: disability; epidemiology; health disparities; obesity; racial/ethnic disparities