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Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Geriatric Psychiatry

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are difficult to detect in old age. This study examined if ASD symptoms in older adults (age > 60) can be detected with the Dutch informant personality questionnaire, (Hetero-Anamnestische Persoonlijkheidsvragenlijst, HAP) in a mental health setting. Patients with ASD (N = 40) were compared to patients with a different psychiatric diagnosis (N = 43; personality disorders excluded). The ASD group had significant higher scores on the scales ‘Socially avoidant behavior’, ‘Rigid behavior’ and ‘Unpredictable and impulsive behavior’. These scales were able to discriminate between individuals with or without ASD. The HAP can thus be used as a screening instrument for ASD symptoms in elderly patients. Further research is needed to clarify what items have the best predictive validity for ASD symptoms.

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Notes

  1. Kurtosis was within range (z < 2) for both groups on all scales. Skewness was within range (z < 2) for the scales ‘perfectionist behavior’ and ‘antagonistic behavior’. Skewness was outside range (z > 2) on the scale ‘somatizing behavior’ for both groups. On the other scales, skewness was outside range (z > 2) for either the ASD or the psychiatric control group. Therefore the results of the t test for these scales are double checked non-parametricly with a Mann–Withney test, which led to the same results.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Mondriaan Hospital, Kloosterkensweg 10, Postbus 4436, 6401 CX, Heerlen-Maastricht, The Netherlands

    S. M. J. Heijnen-Kohl & S. P. J. van Alphen

  2. Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands

    R. M. Kok

  3. Department of Old Age Psychiatry, GGzE, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    R. M. H. J. Wilting

  4. Department of Clinical and Lifespan Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    G. Rossi & S. P. J. van Alphen

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  1. S. M. J. Heijnen-Kohl
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  2. R. M. Kok
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  3. R. M. H. J. Wilting
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  4. G. Rossi
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  5. S. P. J. van Alphen
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Contributions

SHK initiated this study and its design and has executed the study, coordinated the acquisition of participants, executed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript. RK has made substantial contributions to the conception, coordination and the design and the acquisition and interpretation of data and has revised the manuscript critically for intellectual content. RW conceived of the study, has made contributions to the acquisition and interpretation of data and has revised the manuscript critically for intellectual content. GR has participated in the design of the study and performed statistical analyses on the data and made substantial contribution to the interpretation of the data. She has helped to draft the manuscript and has revised it for intellectual content and for the statistical analyses. SA initiated and supervised this study, has made substantial contributions to the conception, coordination and the design of the study and the acquisition and interpretation of data. He has helped to draft the manuscript and has revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. M. J. Heijnen-Kohl.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and have been approved by the medical-ethical committee of the academic hospital Maastricht (azM; approval number 14-4-002.4/ivb).

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Heijnen-Kohl, S.M.J., Kok, R.M., Wilting, R.M.H.J. et al. Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Geriatric Psychiatry. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 2679–2689 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3185-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3185-2

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