Sex Differences in Diagnosis and Clinical Phenotypes of Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Author(s): Shihuan Wang, Hongzhu Deng, Cong You, Kaiyun Chen, Jianying Li, Chun Tang, Chaoqun Ceng, Yuanyuan Zou, Xiaobing Zou, Child Developmental and Behavioral Center, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University
Pages: 153-160
Year: 2017 Issue: 2
Journal: Neuroscience Bulletin
Keyword: Autism spectrum disorder; Sex differences; Diagnosis;
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the differences between boys and girls in the diagnosis and clinical phenotypes of autism spectrum disorder(ASD) in China’s mainland. Children diagnosed with ASD(n = 1064, 228 females) were retrospectively included in the analysis. All children were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised(ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule(ADOS). The results showed that girls scored significantly higher in ADI-R socioemotional reciprocity than boys, and also scored lower in ADI-R and ADOS restricted and repetitive behaviors(RRBs). Meanwhile, the proportions of girls who satisfied the diagnostic cut-off scores in the ADI-R RRBs domain were lower than in boys(P \ 0.05). Our results indicated that girls with ASD show greater socio-emotional reciprocity than boys. Girls also tended to show fewer RRBs than boys, and the type of RRBs in girls differ from those in boys. The ADI-R was found to be less sensitive in girls, particularly for assessment in the RRBs domain.
Pages: 153-160
Year: 2017 Issue: 2
Journal: Neuroscience Bulletin
Keyword: Autism spectrum disorder; Sex differences; Diagnosis;
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the differences between boys and girls in the diagnosis and clinical phenotypes of autism spectrum disorder(ASD) in China’s mainland. Children diagnosed with ASD(n = 1064, 228 females) were retrospectively included in the analysis. All children were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised(ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule(ADOS). The results showed that girls scored significantly higher in ADI-R socioemotional reciprocity than boys, and also scored lower in ADI-R and ADOS restricted and repetitive behaviors(RRBs). Meanwhile, the proportions of girls who satisfied the diagnostic cut-off scores in the ADI-R RRBs domain were lower than in boys(P \ 0.05). Our results indicated that girls with ASD show greater socio-emotional reciprocity than boys. Girls also tended to show fewer RRBs than boys, and the type of RRBs in girls differ from those in boys. The ADI-R was found to be less sensitive in girls, particularly for assessment in the RRBs domain.
Related Articles