1. Constantino JN, Frazier TW. {{Commentary: The observed association between autistic severity measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and general psychopathology – a response to Hus, Bishop, Gotham, Huerta and Lord (2013)}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2013 (Mar 29)
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Frans EM, Sandin S, Reichenberg A, Langstrom N, Lichtenstein P, McGrath JJ, Hultman CM. {{Autism Risk Across Generations: A Population-Based Study of Advancing Grandpaternal and Paternal Age}}. {JAMA Psychiatry};2013 (Mar 20):1-6.
IMPORTANCE Advancing paternal age has been linked to autism. OBJECTIVE To further expand knowledge about the association between paternal age and autism by studying the effect of grandfathers’ age on childhood autism. DESIGN Population-based, multigenerational, case-control study. SETTING Nationwide multigeneration and patient registers in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS We conducted a study of individuals born in Sweden since 1932. Parental age at birth was obtained for more than 90% of the cohort. Grandparental age at the time of birth of the parent was obtained for a smaller subset (5936 cases and 30 923 controls). MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE International Classification of Diseases diagnosis of childhood autism in the patient registry. RESULTS A statistically significant monotonic association was found between advancing grandpaternal age at the time of birth of the parent and risk of autism in grandchildren. Men who had fathered a daughter when they were 50 years or older were 1.79 times (95% CI, 1.35-2.37; P < .001) more likely to have a grandchild with autism, and men who had fathered a son when they were 50 years or older were 1.67 times (95% CI, 1.35-2.37; P < .001) more likely to have a grandchild with autism, compared with men who had fathered children when they were 20 to 24 years old, after controlling for birth year and sex of the child, age of the spouse, family history of psychiatric disorders, highest family educational level, and residential county. A statistically significant monotonic association was also found between advancing paternal age and risk of autism in the offspring. Sensitivity analyses indicated that these findings were not the result of bias due to missing data on grandparental age. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Advanced grandparental age was associated with increased risk of autism, suggesting that risk of autism could develop over generations. The results are consistent with mutations and/or epigenetic alterations associated with advancing paternal age.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Lucock M, Leeming R. {{Autism, seasonality and the environmental perturbation of epigenome related vitamin levels}}. {Med Hypotheses};2013 (Apr 5)
An argument is put forward for environmental modulators of photolabile or photosynthetic vitamins mediating autism risk via a complex downstream interaction of genetic/epigenetic phenomena that provide an explanation for seasonality in this and other developmentally originated disorders.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Monahan M, Classen S, Helsel PV. {{Pre-driving evaluation of a teen with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder}}. {Can J Occup Ther};2013 (Feb);80(1):35-41.
BACKGROUND: Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, and those teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder (ADHD/ASD) may have a greater crash risk. PURPOSE: This case study compared the pre-driving skills of a teen with ADHD/ASD to an age- and gender-matched healthy control (HC). METHOD: Data were collected from performance on clinical tests and on a driving simulator. FINDINGS: The main impairments of the teen with ADHD/ASD were the ability to shift attention, perform simple sequential tasks, integrate visual-motor responses, and coordinate motor responses, whereas the HC demonstrated intact skills in these abilities. The teen with ADHD/ASD made 44 driving errors during the drive, and the HC made 17. The teen with ADHD/ASD had more lane maintenance, visual scanning, and speeding errors compared to the HC. IMPLICATIONS: Teens with ADHD/ASD may have more pre-driving deficits and may require a certified driving rehabilitation specialist to assess readiness to drive, but a larger study is needed to confirm this.
5. Roberts AL, Lyall K, Rich-Edwards JW, Ascherio A, Weisskopf MG. {{Association of Maternal Exposure to Childhood Abuse With Elevated Risk for Autism in Offspring}}. {JAMA Psychiatry};2013 (Mar 20):1-8.
IMPORTANCE Adverse perinatal circumstances have been associated with increased risk for autism in offspring. Women exposed to childhood abuse experience more adverse perinatal circumstances than women unexposed, but whether maternal abuse is associated with autism in offspring is unknown. OBJECTIVES To determine whether maternal exposure to childhood abuse is associated with risk for autism in offspring and whether possible increased risk is accounted for by a higher prevalence of adverse perinatal circumstances among abused women, including toxemia, low birth weight, gestational diabetes, previous induced abortion, intimate partner abuse, pregnancy length shorter than 37 weeks, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use, and alcohol use and smoking during pregnancy. DESIGN AND SETTING Nurses’ Health Study II, a population-based longitudinal cohort of 116 430 women. PARTICIPANTS Nurses with data on maternal childhood abuse and child’s autism status (97.0% were of white race/ethnicity). Controls were randomly selected from among children of women who did not report autism in offspring (participants included 451 mothers of children with autism and 52 498 mothers of children without autism). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Autism spectrum disorder in offspring, assessed by maternal report and validated with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised in a subsample. RESULTS Exposure to abuse was associated with increased risk for autism in children in a monotonically increasing fashion. The highest level of abuse was associated with the greatest prevalence of autism (1.8% vs 0.7% among women not abused, P = .005) and with the greatest risk for autism adjusted for demographic factors (risk ratio, 3.7; 95% CI, 2.3-5.8). All adverse perinatal circumstances except low birth weight were more prevalent among women abused in childhood. Adjusted for perinatal factors, the association of maternal childhood abuse with autism in offspring was slightly attenuated (risk ratio for highest level of abuse, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.9-4.8). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE We identify an intergenerational association between maternal exposure to childhood abuse and risk for autism in the subsequent generation. Adverse perinatal circumstances accounted for only a small portion of this increased risk.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. Roehr B. {{Study finds no association between autism and vaccination}}. {BMJ};2013;346:f2095.
7. Valenti M, La Malfa G, Tomassini A, Masedu F, Tiberti S, Sorge G. {{Burnout among therapists working with persons with autism after the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy: a longitudinal comparative study}}. {J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs};2013 (Apr 2)
ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY: This study was the first attempt to evaluate burnout occurrence in mental health therapists working in a highly exposed setting, characterized by prolonged exposure to an autism-related work frame and a post-earthquake aftermath. Results strongly suggest that autism therapists exposed to a disruptive earthquake are at higher risk of burnout than caregivers working in typical conditions. In presence of high-risk exposures, burnout occurs rapidly (1 year) with respect to times to event described in the literature (4 years or later). Efforts are required to help mental health workers, including psychiatric nurses, to cope with the devastating situation determined by an earthquake. Assuming that return to good work conditions, supervision support, and natural adaptation are plausible determinants in reducing burnout risk, a periodical monitoring of mental health status is recommended in mental health works. ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to follow up the occurrence of burnout in therapists of children and adolescents with autism experiencing the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, and to discuss implications for burnout prevention after disasters. A longitudinal study was carried out, measuring burnout outcomes according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory in 11 exposed and 53 unexposed therapists. Staff in the exposed group appeared to report significantly higher levels of emotional exhaustion after 1 and 2 years of follow-up than the unexposed staff. As to lack of personal accomplishment, the exposed groups shows increasingly lower scores with respect to the unexposed group, with personal accomplishment (PA) values falling from 41.0 [standard deviation (SD) 3.7] to 33.4 (SD 4.1) after 2 years, whereas PA values remain stable over time in the unexposed group. As to depersonalization, data show no significant difference between groups. Burnout occurrence is induced by the exceptional stressors related with natural disasters like earthquakes. Efforts are required to help mental health workers, including psychiatric nurses, to cope with the devastating situation determined by an earthquake. A periodical monitoring of mental health status is recommended in mental health works, especially with regard to help with post-traumatic stress disorder, coping with work and therapeutic relationships, family and social life and economic impact.
