Higher prevalence of mood disorders in admitted patients with autism

Abstract

Aims

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disabling psychiatric disorder. About half of the ASD patients present with comorbid psychiatric disorders and may require inpatient psychiatric hospitalization during illness exacerbation (Munesue et al., 2008). The present study examines the prevalence of co-existing psychiatric disorders among adult ASD patients admitted to a psychiatric safety-net hospital.

Methods

Patients admitted to UT Health Harris County Psychiatric Center between January 2012-December 2013 were enrolled (HSC-MS-14-0274) to the study. Patients diagnosed with ASD based on ICD-9 criteria were identified, and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, including admission diagnoses, were documented. Patients diagnosed with ASD were then divided into three groups based on major admitting diagnosis (mood, psychosis, and other diagnoses) based upon ICD-9 criteria.

Results

Of 14,253 inpatients, 72 were diagnosed as ASD. 61.1 % of ASD patients had an admitting diagnosis of any mood disorders, 18.1 % with a co-morbid psychotic spectrum disorder, and 20.8 % with other co-morbid admitting disorders. Major diagnostic groups differed significantly for ASD and non-ASD patients (X² = 540.247, p < 0.001). Patients diagnosed with ASD also had significantly higher readmission rates compared to non-ASD patients (X² = 0.026, p < 0.026).

Conclusions

96.6 % of patients with ASD had a primary psychiatric disorder at admission, and the most common disorder was a mood disorder (61.1 %). Increased readmission rates among adult ASD patients may indicate a higher severity of their condition than those not diagnosed with ASD.