Investigating gender differences in the early markers of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) in infants and toddlers
Investigating gender differences in the early markers of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) in infants and toddlers
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DOI：
10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101745
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发表时间：
2021-02-25
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Freeman, Nerelie C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Barbaro, Josephine;Freeman, Nerelie C.
背景：与男性相比，许多患有自闭症谱系疾病 (ASC) 的女性诊断较晚、误诊或完全漏诊，导致失去早期支持和服务的机会。因此，研究人员尝试尽早发现和诊断患有 ASC 的女性至关重要。本研究的主要目的是调查在常规社区发育监测中发现的婴幼儿 ASC 早期症状的性别差异。第二个目的是检查随时间变化的性别比例趋势。方法：对 197 名婴儿和幼儿（44 名女性，153 名男性）进行横断面样本，“可能性很高”。 ASC 按自闭症诊断和性别进行分组，以便能够比较 18 个月和 24 个月大时的社交行为。此外，还对 12 至 24 个月龄之间的性别比例进行了检查。结果：18-24 个月时各组间未发现性别差异（小样本禁止在 12 个月时进行分析）。然而，自闭症女性与男性的比例从 12 个月时的 1:15 下降到 24 个月时的 1:3.2。结论：本研究结果表明，由于 12 个月和 24 个月之间性别比例差异较大，因此在进行 ASC 发育监测时需要对女性进行密切监测。建议未来的研究继续关注社区样本中的早期自闭症表型，以协助修改或开发婴儿期和幼儿期的女性特异性筛查和发育监测工具。
Background: Many females with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are diagnosed later, misdiagnosed, or missed altogether compared with males, leading to lost opportunities for early supports and services. It is therefore critical that researchers attempt to identify the earliest possible opportunity for females with ASC to be identified and diagnosed. The primary objective of this study was to investigate gender differences in the early signs of ASC in infants and toddlers identified during routine, community-based, developmental surveillance. A secondary aim was to examine gender ratio trends across time.Method: A cross-sectional sample of 197 infants and toddlers (44 female, 153 male) at ?high likelihood? for ASC were grouped by autism diagnosis and gender to enable socialcommunication behaviours to be compared at 18 and 24 months of age. Furthermore, gender ratio rends were examined between 12 and 24 months of age. Results: No gender differences were found across groups at 18?24-months (small samples prohibited analyses at 12-months). However, the ratio of autistic females to males decreased from 1:15 at 12-months to 1:3.2 by 24-months.Conclusions: The results of this study suggest close monitoring of females is required when conducting developmental surveillance for ASC, due to the large gender ratio discrepancy between 12- and 24-months. It is recommended that future studies continue to focus on the early autism phenotype in community-based samples, to assist with modification or development of female specific screening and developmental surveillance tools during infancy and toddlerhood.