Health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors in adolescents with high-functioning autism

BACKGROUND Health-related risky behaviors generally refer to behaviors that have a negative impact on health and quality of life.Health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with high-functioning autism(HFA)have not been well understood so far.Adolescents with HFA may have more health-related risky behaviors than neurotypical adolescents.AIM To investigate health-related risky behaviors and their risk factors with HFA.METHODS This is an observational study.Our study enrolled 110 adolescents aged 12-19-years-old meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition criteria for HFA.They were recruited from Peking University Sixth Hospital.There were also 110 age,sex and nationality matched controls enrolled who came from a public school in Beijing,China.Both groups completed the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory.Nonparametric tests were carried out for comparison of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory scores between the two groups.Expression recognition,the Inventory of Subjective Life Quality for Child and Adolescent,Chinese Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children,Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adult-Chinese Revised,Theory of Mind test and Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire were assessed in the autism group to explore factors associated with health-related risky behaviors.Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to explore the risk factors of health-related risky behaviors in the HFA group.RESULTS The results showed that the total score of the Adolescents Health-related Risky Behavior Inventory and scores of“aggression and violence,”“suicide and selfinjury,”“health compromising behavior”and“unprotected sex”subscales in the HFA group were significantly higher than those in the control group(Z range-4.197 to-2.213,P<0.05).Among the associated factors,poor emotional experience(B=-0.268,P<0.001),depression(B=-0.321,P<0.001),low score of intelligence(B=-0.032,P=0.042),low score of Theory of Mind test(B=-1.321,P=0.003)and poor adaptation to school life(B=-0.152,P=0.006)were risk factors.These risky behaviors may promote the occurrence of health-related risky behaviors in adolescents with HFA.CONCLUSION This study showed that adolescents with HFA were more likely to be involved in health-related risky behaviors.Different health-related risky behaviors have different reasons.

Same same but different:Neuroanatomic and connectomic profiles of early-onset schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder

Background:Early-onset schizophrenia(EOS)and autism spectrum disorder(ASD)are two mental disorders with abnormal neurodevelopment and overlapping clinical symptoms.However,few prospective multi-center imaging studies explored their pathophysiological differences and similarities comprehensively.Methods:We utilized a large cohort of functional magnetic resonance imaging data with standardized scanning protocols from 594 participants(276 participants with high-functioning ASD,187 participants with EOS,and 131 normal controls(NCs))recruited at five centers.A comprehensive evaluation of anatomical and connectomic features,in-cluding cortical thickness,subcortical nuclei volume,functional connectivity,functional gradients,and network efficiency,was conducted,culminating in the construction of imaging-based neuro-profiles for individuals with EOS and ASD.Results:The derived neuro-profiles revealed that EOS is characterized by more pro-nounced reductions in cortical thickness and subcortical nuclei volumes.In contrast,ASD exhibited more pronounced abnormalities in connectomic attributes.The de-creased network functional connectivity and compressed functional gradients in ASD are likely to contribute to reduced network efficiency.Classifiers based on imaging profiles successfully distinguished individuals with EOS,ASD,and NCs with com-mendable performance in leave-site-out cross-validation(area under the operating characteristic curve(AUC)for ASD vs.NC:0.769,AUC for ASD vs.EOS:0.792,AUC for EOS vs.NC:0.854).Conclusion:The neuro-profiles revealed that EOS and ASD exhibit overlapping as well as unique imaging characteristics;however,EOS exhibits greater structural variation,while ASD presents with more subtle connectomic abnormalities.These findings offer valuable insights into the distinct neurobiological mechanisms of EOS and ASD and enhance the prospect of early diagnosis through objective imaging-based biomarkers.