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Clinical and Laboratory Data in a Sample of Greek Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe clinical and laboratory data, as well as comorbid disorders in Greek children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Data were retrospectively collected for 222 children aged 1.5–9 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 43.7 ± 17.6 months. Significantly earlier diagnoses were noted in children with comorbid disorders (epilepsy, hearing deficits, genetic/metabolic disorders), mental retardation and a large head circumference (HC). Macrocephaly (HC ≥ 97th percentile) was found in 21.2% of children, genetic and metabolic disorders in 11.7% and 2.7% respectively and mental retardation in 23%. Patients with certain clinical features (i.e. syndromic) are earlier diagnosed. It is of ultimate importance to promptly identify all children with ASD, probably through the appliance of screening and surveillance programs in the Greek population.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge all participants and their families, as well as Grammatiki Kapetanou, Evagelia Mousafeiropoulou, Maria Tsirona and Efstratio Zafeiriou for their invaluable input to the study. This work did not receive funds of any kind.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1st Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 9 Anixeos Str., Panorama, 55236, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Athina Ververi, Efthymia Vargiami, Dimitrios Tryfonas & Dimitrios I. Zafeiriou

  2. Department of Child Psychiatry, Hippokration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Vassiliki Papadopoulou

Authors
  1. Athina Ververi
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  2. Efthymia Vargiami
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  3. Vassiliki Papadopoulou
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  4. Dimitrios Tryfonas
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  5. Dimitrios I. Zafeiriou
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Correspondence to Athina Ververi.

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Ververi, A., Vargiami, E., Papadopoulou, V. et al. Clinical and Laboratory Data in a Sample of Greek Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 1470–1476 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1414-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1414-7

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