TY - JOUR
T1 - Anxiety, sensory over-responsivity, and gastrointestinal problems in children with autism spectrum disorders
AU - Mazurek, Micah O.
AU - Vasa, Roma A.
AU - Kalb, Luther G.
AU - Kanne, Stephen M.
AU - Rosenberg, Daniel
AU - Keefer, Amy
AU - Murray, Donna S.
AU - Freedman, Brian
AU - Lowery, Lea Ann
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high rates of anxiety, sensory processing problems, and gastrointestinal (GI) problems; however, the associations among these symptoms in children with ASD have not been previously examined. The current study examined bivariate and multivariate relations among anxiety, sensory over-responsivity, and chronic GI problems in a sample of 2,973 children with ASD enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network (ages 2-17 years, 81.6 % male). Twenty-four percent of the sample experienced at least one type of chronic GI problem (constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and/or nausea lasting three or more months). Children with each type of GI problem had significantly higher rates of both anxiety and sensory over-responsivity. Sensory over-responsivity and anxiety were highly associated, and each provided unique contributions to the prediction of chronic GI problems in logistic regression analyses. The results indicate that anxiety, sensory over-responsivity and GI problems are possibly interrelated phenomenon for children with ASD, and may have common underlying mechanisms.
AB - Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience high rates of anxiety, sensory processing problems, and gastrointestinal (GI) problems; however, the associations among these symptoms in children with ASD have not been previously examined. The current study examined bivariate and multivariate relations among anxiety, sensory over-responsivity, and chronic GI problems in a sample of 2,973 children with ASD enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network (ages 2-17 years, 81.6 % male). Twenty-four percent of the sample experienced at least one type of chronic GI problem (constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and/or nausea lasting three or more months). Children with each type of GI problem had significantly higher rates of both anxiety and sensory over-responsivity. Sensory over-responsivity and anxiety were highly associated, and each provided unique contributions to the prediction of chronic GI problems in logistic regression analyses. The results indicate that anxiety, sensory over-responsivity and GI problems are possibly interrelated phenomenon for children with ASD, and may have common underlying mechanisms.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Autism spectrum disorders
KW - Gastrointestinal problems
KW - Sensory over-responsivity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872413630&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84872413630&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10802-012-9668-x
DO - 10.1007/s10802-012-9668-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22850932
AN - SCOPUS:84872413630
SN - 0091-0627
VL - 41
SP - 165
EP - 176
JO - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
IS - 1
ER -