scholarly journals Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety Levels among Healthcare Workers Serving Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Shuliweeh Alenezi ◽  
Ahmad Almadani ◽  
Maram Al Tuwariqi ◽  
Fahad Alzahrani ◽  
Meshari Alshabri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
P Value ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Health Questionnaire ◽  
Patient Health ◽  
Anxiety Levels

Burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs) is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that results from unmanaged, excessive, and long-term workplace stressors. This study aims to assess the prevalence of burnout and the levels of anxiety and depression among HCWs who primarily work with children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted utilizing the Arabic version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS), Patient Health Questionnaire for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ-9). Among the 381 participants working in autism centers, the majority were young Saudi females (326) working full-time as specialists in the private sector with less than five years of experience. The HCWs’ overall mean scores on the three Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) were 62%, 23.7%, and 76.5%, respectively. A total of 51.4% of HCWs reported moderate to high anxiety levels on GAD-7, and 47.8% showed moderate to very high levels of depression on PHQ-9. The mean perceived EE converged significantly but negatively on their overall mean perceived satisfaction with AWS (p-value < 0.001), demonstrating that greater emotional fatigue predicts less satisfaction with their work. The PA scores correlated significantly and positively with their overall mean satisfaction with their AWS score (p-value < 0.001). Considering sociodemographic variables, HCWs aged between 20–29 years have significantly lower mean PA scores than HCWs aged thirty and older (p = 0.007). Also, male HCWs perceived significantly higher work-related DP than females. More research is required to determine the nature of variables that contribute to burnout, depression, and anxiety in HCWs helping children with ASD.

scholarly journals Assessment of knowledge about childhood autism spectrum disorder among healthcare workers in Makkah-Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aalia Akhtar Hayat ◽  
Areej Habib Meny ◽  
Nabila Salahuddin ◽  
Faisal M. Alnemary ◽  
Kumar-Ricky Ahuja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Childhood Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
P Value ◽  
The Mean

Objective: To measure the knowledge of healthcare professionals about increasingly prevalent Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) along with perceptions around its management and prognosis and comparison across various specialties. Methods: This Cross sectional survey based comparative analysis took place at Maternity and Children Hospital and King Faisal Hospital Makkah from December 2017 to May 2018. The validated self-administered “Knowledge about childhood autism among health workers” questionnaire was used along with additional questions regarding perceptions about ASD. The mean and mean percent scores were calculated. Chi squared test and ANOVA were applied to find the association between quantitative and qualitative variables respectively. Results: Out of 162 participants, 153 returned the questionnaire and 147 were included in final analysis. Physicians constituted 81.6% (120) of participants. The mean score for participants was 9.80(S.E.M ±0.32) where non-physicians yielded higher mean score (11.2±4.41) as compared to physicians (9.6±3.28) (p=0.113). Psychiatrists had highest score of 16/19 while general physicians had lowest (6/19). Participants with more years of experience had higher mean scores (p-value = 0.01). About 72.10% (106) of participants opted for medication as a treatment option. Nearly 38.1% (56) of participants were skeptical about improvement of ASD with early interventions. Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge about ASD amongst healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia. Experienced professionals working with ASD children can be utilized to deliver targeted trainings nationwide. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.605 How to cite this:Hayat AA, Meny AH, Salahuddin N, Alnemary FM, Ahuja KR, Azeem MW. Assessment of knowledge about childhood autism spectrum disorder among healthcare workers in Makkah- Saudi Arabia. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(4):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.4.605 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Early Diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder Children

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shorifa Shahjadi ◽  
Arif Salam Khan ◽  
Mesbah Uddin Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Serum Lactate ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Value ◽  
Blood Ammonia ◽  
Normal Children

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal brain bioenergetics can cause autism.Cellular function impairment due to mitochondrial dysfunction may cause cognitive impairment, language deficits and abnormal energy metabolism in autism.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate biochemical evidence of the mitochondrial dysfunction by measuring blood ammonia, serum lactate, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatinine kinase (CK) in autism spectrum disorder children.Methods: This observational type of analytical study with case-control design was conducted in the Department of Physiology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka. For this study, a total number of 20 Subjects were randomly selected, among which 10 were apparently healthy subjects (control group-A) for comparison and 10 were diagnosed children with autism spectrum disorder (study group-B). 5ml venous blood was collected from both groups for analysis serum CK, AST, ALT, lactate and blood ammonia. Blood ammonia, serum lactate, AST, ALT and CK level were estimated in all children by standard laboratory method. Independent sample‘t’ test was used for statistical analysis. P value <0.05 was accepted as significant. The mean of all the measured biochemical variables in normal children were within normal ranges.Result: Blood ammonia, serum lactate, AST, CK were found significantly higher in autism spectrum disorder children in comparison to control Conclusion: From the result of this study it may be concluded that mitochondrial dysfunction occur in autistic spectrum disorder children .J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 26, No.1, April, 2017, Page 43-47

scholarly journals Evaluation of carnitine levels in dried blood spot samples in children with autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozgur Aslan ◽  
Burcu Kardaş ◽  
Mehmet Nuri Özbek ◽  
Bahadır Ercan
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Dried Blood Spot ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Value ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disease ◽  
Glycine Transporter ◽  
Blood Spot

Abstract Objectives Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disease with an average diagnosis age of over 3 years. Carnitine levels in ASD are important because they show potential mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal fatty acid metabolism. In this study, in ASD children carnitine levels in dried blood spot samples were evaluated and compared with the control group. Methods Twentythree children diagnosed with ASD in Research and Training Hospital (19 boys, 4 girls) and age and gender matched 24 children without ASD were enrolled in this study. 17 carnitines in dried blood samples were measured with LC-MS/MS. Results C0, C2, C4-OH, C5, C5-OH, C6, C16, C18 carnitines were lower (p value 0.037, 0.010, 0.005, 0.032, 0.005, 0.003, 0.043, 0.003, respectively) and C18:1 carnitine was higher (p<0.025) in ASD group compared with control group. Conclusions Comprehensive carnitine levels for ASD are important to establish a treatment protocol for the treatment of ASD behavior and severity. C18:1 carnitine, detected for the first time in the cases with ASD, is important for its high levels and for being a glycine transporter two inhibitor. In ASD cases, the molecular analysis might be suggested for enzymes involved in carnitine metabolism and for glycine transporter 2.

scholarly journals A preliminary study of schema therapy for adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: A single-arm, uncontrolled trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumiyo Oshima ◽  
Tomokazu Murata ◽  
Toshiyuki Ohtani ◽  
Mikuko Seto ◽  
Eiji Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Schema Therapy ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Early Maladaptive Schema ◽  
Preliminary Study

Abstract Objective: Schema therapy (ST) has recently been shown to be effective for the treatment of various mental disorders, including personality disorders. This pilot clinical trial aimed to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of ST for adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD)Results: From pre- to post-treatment, we found significant improvements in social functions (GAF and WHO-QOL), early maladaptive schema (YSQ), and depression and anxiety (BDI-II and STAI).Trial registration: UMIN000014535; registered on July 11, 2014.

scholarly journals Developmental Pleiotropy of PTEN in Congenital Hydrocephalus and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyrone DeSpenza
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Congenital Hydrocephalus ◽  
National Database ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
P Value ◽  
Fold Enrichment

Abstract INTRODUCTION A population-based study has found that approximately one quarter of individuals diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus (CH) are also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, a common mechanism underlying these seemingly disparate disorders is unknown. We hypothesize that rare, damaging mutations in genes cause a pleiotropic effect responsible for the development of both CH and ASD. METHODS Using WES studies >250 CH patients, we selected 42 DNMs in genes with the greatest probability of loss-of-function (LoF) (pLI > .9), to determine whether there was an enrichment of ASD genes (pLI > .9) found in denovo-db, a national database of ASD DNMs A 2 × 2 contingency table revealed a 2.18-fold enrichment of ASD genes in sporadic CH genes (P-value = . 011). Gene Ontology analysis found >100-fold enrichment of TORC1 signaling (GO: 0031931) as a significantly enriched module (P-value = .000152). We recapitulated the CH phenotype in a genetic mouse model; wherein, Pten, a direct negative regulator of torc1 signaling, is conditionally knocked-out (Pten cKO) in a select subset of NSCs previously associated with an ASD phenotype in mice. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed for Pten cKO and their WT, control littermates. Rapamycin was injected intraperitoneally in Pten cKO and WT mice daily from postnatal (P) days 10 to 22. RESULTS Pten cKO resulted in fully penetrant, fatal hydrocephalus with a median survival of P17.5. WT mice (n = 41) survived significantly longer than Pten cKO mice (n = 10) (P < .0001). Rapamycin rescued the fatal hydrocephalus phenotype (n = 8) by inhibition of mTOR (P < .0001). CONCLUSION PTEN mutations have previously been identified in ASD patients. Here, we present statistical analyses and a mouse model to support our hypothesis that ASD diagnoses in some CH patients may be a neurodevelopmental sequelae of PTEN LoF. These findings suggest that early ASD service interventions may benefit a subset of CH patients who would otherwise be managed solely with surgery.

scholarly journals Characteristics of autism spectrum disorder in anorexia nervosa: A naturalistic study in an inpatient treatment programme

Autism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Tchanturia ◽  
James Adamson ◽  
Jenni Leppanen ◽  
Heather Westwood
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Inpatient Treatment ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Eating Disorder Psychopathology

Previous research has demonstrated links between anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorder however, few studies have examined the possible impact of symptoms of autism spectrum disorder on clinical outcomes in anorexia nervosa. The aim of this study was to examine the association between symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and eating disorders, and other psychopathology during the course of inpatient treatment in individuals with anorexia nervosa. Participants with anorexia nervosa (n = 171) completed questionnaires exploring eating disorder psychopathology, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and everyday functioning at both admission and discharge. Characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient, short version. Autism spectrum disorder symptoms were significantly positively correlated with eating disorder psychopathology, work and social functioning, and symptoms of depression and anxiety, but not with body mass index. Autism Spectrum Quotient, short version scores remained relatively stable from admission to discharge but there was a small, significant reduction in scores. There was no interaction between time and Autism Spectrum Quotient, short version scores on clinical symptom change. In anorexia nervosa, autism spectrum disorder symptoms appear to be associated with a more severe clinical presentation on admission to inpatient care. Autism spectrum disorder symptoms as assessed by self-report measures may be exacerbated by other mental health psychopathology, which warrants further investigation.

scholarly journals VISUAL SUPPORT REDUCES ANXIETY IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND ENHANCE THEIR VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILLS

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Ramsha Ghous ◽  
Hina Naz
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Therapy Sessions ◽  
Experimental Group

BACKGROUND Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with sensory processing that result in anxiety in certain situations. Aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of visual supports in reduction of anxiety levels and tolerance of transitions or switch over in children with ASD. STUDY DESIGN Randomized controlled trial METHODS With a sample size of 57, comparison was made between two groups i.e.; the experimental and the control group to see the efficacy of the visual inputs in reducing anxiety in children with ASD of age bracket 8-12 years old. Experimental group was given visual aids with occupational therapy sessions, while control group was only given conventional Occupational Therapy sessions. Pre and post analysis of visual perceptual ages and the anxiety levels of children were compared by anxiety scale for children-spectrum disorder and motor-free visual perception test. RESULT Significant increase in the visual perceptual ages with reduction in anxiety level was observed in experimental; no significant difference was found in control group. CONCLUSION Reduction in the anxiety levels was achieved after 4 weeks of intervention with improvement in the visual perceptual ages in the experimental group.

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