How Are They Doing? Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at School Age of Children Born Following Assisted Reproductive Treatments

2020 ◽  
pp. 088307382096716
Author(s):  
Adel Farhi ◽  
Saralee Glasser ◽  
Lidia V. Gabis ◽  
Galit Hirsh-Yechezkel ◽  
Shay Frank ◽  
...  

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess major neurodevelopmental aspects of children conceived by assisted reproductive treatments compared to spontaneously conceived children during the early school years. Material & Methods: In this follow-up study, mothers of 358 children born following assisted reproductive treatments and 401 spontaneously-conceived children were interviewed by telephone regarding their children’s health and development, when the children were 7-8 years old. The main outcomes were maternal responses to 4 questionnaires: Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, Short Sensory Profile, Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, and the Attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) Child Symptom Inventory-4 subscale. Mothers reported diagnoses of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Results: No significant differences were found between the groups in Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire or Short Sensory Profile scores upon univariate or multivariable analyses. There was a slightly higher but nonsignificant rate of diagnosed ADHD among children in the assisted reproductive treatment group (9.6% vs 5.5%; P = .18); on multivariable analysis, a nonsignificant increase in ADHD was also found for assisted reproductive treatment children (hazard ratio 1.45, 95% confidence interval 0.81-2.61). Regarding the Child Symptom Inventory-4 criteria for ADHD among the children who had never been diagnosed, there was also a slightly higher but nonsignificant rate among the assisted reproductive treatments compared to spontaneously-conceived children on univariate (2.4% vs 1.8%; P = .50) and multivariable analysis (odds ratio 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.27-2.86). Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis or Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire scores were not significantly different; however, 5 of the 6 children with autism spectrum disorder diagnoses were in the assisted reproductive treatment group. Conclusions: Neurodevelopmental measures were similar in both groups, although nonconclusive regarding ADHD and autism spectrum disorder risk. These findings contribute to the knowledge regarding long-term assisted reproductive treatment outcomes.

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 4231-4249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Williams ◽  
Michelle D. Failla ◽  
Katherine O. Gotham ◽  
Tiffany G. Woynaroski ◽  
Carissa Cascio

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Lefebvre ◽  
Julian Tillmann ◽  
Freddy Cliquet ◽  
Frederique Amsellem ◽  
Anna Maruani ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. Sensory processing atypicalities are part of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and could result from an excitation/inhibition imbalance. Yet, the convergence level of phenotypic sensory processing atypicalities with genetic alterations in GABA-ergic and glutamatergic pathways remains poorly understood. This study aimed to characterize the distribution of hypo/hyper-sensory profile among individuals with ASD and investigate the role of deleterious mutations in GABAergic and glutamatergic pathways related genes in sensory processing atypicalities. Method. From the Short Sensory Profile (SSP) questionnaire, we defined and explored a score – the differential Short Sensory Profile (dSSP) - as a normalized and centralized hypo/hypersensitivity ratio for 1136 participants (533 with ASD, 210 first-degree relatives, and 267 controls) from two independent study samples (PARIS and LEAP). We also performed an unsupervised item-based clustering analysis on SSP items scores to validate this new categorization in terms of hypo and hyper sensitivity. We then explored the link between the dSSP score and the burden of deleterious mutations in a subset of individuals for which whole-genome sequencing data were available. Results. We observed a mean dSSP score difference between ASD and controls, driven mostly by a high dSSP score variability among groups (PARIS: p<0.0001, η2 = 0.0001, LEAP: p<0.0001, Cohen’s d=3.67). First-degree relatives were with an intermediate distribution variability profile (p<0.0001). We also reported a positive developmental trajectory of the dSSP score (PARIS: p=0.0006, η2 = 0.02; LEAP: p=0.01, η2 = 0.01). Clusters were similarly characterized by hypo- and hyper-sensitivity items in both study samples (Cramer's V from 0.64 to 0.69, p<0.05). Our genetic analysis showed a trend only for an association with mutations of the GABAergic pathway.Limitations. The major limitation was the dSSP score difficulty to discriminate subjects with a similar quantum of hypo- and hyper- sensory symptoms to those with no such symptoms, resulting both in a similar ratio score of 0.Conclusion. The dSSP score could be a relevant clinical score of the hypo/hyper-sensory individual profile in subjects with ASD. Combined with additional sensory domain characteristics, genetics and endophenotypic substrates, the dSSP score will offer new avenues to explore the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of sensory processing atypicalities in ASD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anjana Narayan Bhat

Abstract Background Motor impairments are pervasive in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); however, children with ASD rarely receive a dual diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). The Simons Foundation SPARK study engaged families affected by ASD through an online study. Objectives The DCD parent questionnaire (DCDQ) was used to assess the prevalence of a risk for motor impairment or DCD in children with ASD between 5 and 15 years of age. Design This study utilizes parent reports from a large database of children with ASD. Methods A total of 16,705 parents of children with ASD completed the DCDQ. We obtained our final SPARK dataset (n = 11,814) after filtering out invalid data, using stronger cut-offs to confirm ASD traits, and excluding children with general neuromotor impairments/intellectual delays. We compared DCDQ total and subscale scores from the SPARK dataset with published norms for each age between 5 and 15 years. Results The proportion of children with ASD at risk for a motor impairment was very high at 86.9%. Children with ASD did not outgrow their motor impairments and continued to present with a risk for DCD even into adolescence. Yet, only 31.6% of children were receiving physical therapy services. Limitations Our analysis of a large database of parent-reported outcomes using the DCDQ did not involve follow-up clinical assessments. Conclusions Using a large sample of children with ASD, this study shows that a risk for motor impairment or DCD was present in most children with ASD and persists into adolescence; however, only a small proportion of children with ASD were receiving physical therapist interventions. A diagnosis of ASD must trigger motor screening, evaluations, and appropriate interventions by physical and occupational therapists to address the functional impairments of children with ASD while also positively impacting their social communication, cognition, and behavior. Using valid motor measures, future research must determine if motor impairment is a fundamental feature of ASD.


2020 ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Vakulenko

The article describes and analyzes the questionnaire “Short Sensory Profile (SSP)”. The original variant of the Profile, its features and advantages in using as a diagnostic tool and as an informational material describing for parents the specifics of their children’s disorders are described. The impaired processing and integration of sensory information characteristic for healthy children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is examined. Attention is drawn that sensory features and its violations characteristic for healthy and ASD children should be researched with a Ukrainian sample. The results of SSP adaptation and validation with the sample of Ukrainian children are presented. The questionnaire was translated into Ukrainian language from the original one (English) by a professional interpreter. The adapted version passed an asymmetrical translation, which helped to preserve the meanings of used statements and comply with the requirements of language clarity and certainty. The parents of 506 children (293 healthy children and 213 children with autism spectrum disorder) took part in the questionnaire adaptation; they filled the questionnaire about their children’s sensory patterns. Children were further divided into 6 groups by age and the presence / absence of a diagnosed autism spectrum disorder. Excel 2016 was used to calculate the scores, and IBM SPSS v.23 statistical application was used to check the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire. The SSP psychometric characteristics, such as internal consistency of the statements, retest reliability, obvious validity, validity by the criteria and constructive validity, were at high and sufficient levels. The procedure and interpretation of the study results were standardized. For this, the frequency distribution was calculated by the general indicator and additionally by age groups to determine the severity of sensory disturbances in children and adolescents. According to the results of frequency distribution, the overall distribution of scores was determined, which gave the possibility to determine the presence and severity of the violations in processing and integration of sensory information by children and adolescents.


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