Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire
| Autor: | Ashwood, K. L., Gillan, N., Horder, J., Hayward, Hannah, Woodhouse, E., Mcewen, F. S., Findon, J., Eklund, H., Spain, D., Wilson, C. E., Cadman, T., Young, Susan, Stoencheva, V., Murphy, Clodagh, Robertson, Dene, Charman, T., Bolton, Philip, Glaser, K., Asherson, P., Simonoff, E., Murphy, D. G. |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male DISORDERS Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism autism spectrum disorders Psychology Clinical Social Sciences CHILDREN Comorbidity behavioral disciplines and activities ASD Sensitivity and Specificity Young Adult Predictive Value of Tests Surveys and Questionnaires mental disorders Psychology Humans VALIDITY UNITED-KINGDOM Psychiatry Psychiatric Status Rating Scales Science & Technology neurodevelopmental disorders screening Original Articles self-report PREVALENCE INTERVIEW INDIVIDUALS 1117 Public Health And Health Services 1701 Psychology Female Self Report 1109 Neurosciences Life Sciences & Biomedicine |
| Zdroj: | Psychological Medicine Ashwood, K, Gillan, N, Horder, J, Hayward, H, Woodhouse, E L, McEwen, F S, Findon, J, Eklund, H, Spain, D, Wilson, C, Cadman, T J, Young, S J, Stoencheva, V V, Murphy, C, Robertson, D, Charman, T, Bolton, P F, Glaser, K F, Asherson, P J E, Simonoff, E & Murphy, D G 2016, ' Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire ', Psychological medicine, vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 2595-2604 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716001082 Ashwood, K L, Gillan, N, Horder, J, Hayward, H, Woodhouse, E, Mcewen, F S, Findon, J, Eklund, H, Spain, D, Wilson, C E, Cadman, T, Young, S, Stoencheva, V, Murphy, C, Robertson, D, Charman, T, Bolton, P, Glaser, K, Asherson, P, Simonoff, E & Murphy, D G 2016, ' Predicting the diagnosis of autism in adults using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) questionnaire ', Psychological Medicine, vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 2595-2604 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291716001082 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/S0033291716001082 |
| Popis: | BackgroundMany adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain undiagnosed. Specialist assessment clinics enable the detection of these cases, but such services are often overstretched. It has been proposed that unnecessary referrals to these services could be reduced by prioritizing individuals who score highly on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a self-report questionnaire measure of autistic traits. However, the ability of the AQ to predict who will go on to receive a diagnosis of ASD in adults is unclear.MethodWe studied 476 adults, seen consecutively at a national ASD diagnostic referral service for suspected ASD. We tested AQ scores as predictors of ASD diagnosis made by expert clinicians according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 criteria, informed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G) and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) assessments.ResultsOf the participants, 73% received a clinical diagnosis of ASD. Self-report AQ scores did not significantly predict receipt of a diagnosis. While AQ scores provided high sensitivity of 0.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72–0.82] and positive predictive value of 0.76 (95% CI 0.70–0.80), the specificity of 0.29 (95% CI 0.20–0.38) and negative predictive value of 0.36 (95% CI 0.22–0.40) were low. Thus, 64% of those who scored below the AQ cut-off were ‘false negatives’ who did in fact have ASD. Co-morbidity data revealed that generalized anxiety disorder may ‘mimic’ ASD and inflate AQ scores, leading to false positives.ConclusionsThe AQ's utility for screening referrals was limited in this sample. Recommendations supporting the AQ's role in the assessment of adult ASD, e.g. UK NICE guidelines, may need to be reconsidered. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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