title: Depression in Parents of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Claims-Based Analysis.
abstract: Previous studies showing that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children can have secondary effects on the child's parents are limited by small sample sizes and parent self-report. We examined the odds of depression in parents of children with ASD compared to parents of children without ASD using a large national claims database. Mothers (OR 2.95, 95% CI 2.81-3.09) and fathers (OR 2.41, 95% CI 2.25-2.58) of children with ASD were more likely to have a diagnosis of depression than parents of children without ASD. Odds of depression also increased when there was more than one child with ASD in the family and with child age. Study results reinforce the benefits of support and education for parents of children with ASD.
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Studies in Health Economics (CASHE), Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, 90 Hope Drive, Suite 2200, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA. acohrs@phs.psu.edu.
authors.forename: Austin C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Cohrs
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Studies in Health Economics (CASHE), Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, 90 Hope Drive, Suite 2200, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Leslie
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Claims data; Depression; Parents; Regression analysis; Services research