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Injury treatment among children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder

Suzanne McDermott1, Li Zhou, Joshua Mann

  • 1Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Family Medicine Center, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, 3209 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. suzanne.mcdermott@palmettohealth.org

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|August 11, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Children with autism or PDD have a higher risk of emergency/hospital injury treatment compared to peers. They experience more head, face, neck, poisoning, and self-inflicted injuries.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Injury Epidemiology

Background:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) are neurodevelopmental conditions.
  • Understanding injury patterns in these populations is crucial for targeted prevention.
  • Medicaid insurance covers a significant portion of pediatric healthcare in the US.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare injury-related emergency/hospital treatment rates between children with ASD/PDD and typically developing children.
  • To identify specific types of injuries that are more or less frequent in children with ASD/PDD.
  • To analyze injury data within the context of Medicaid insurance coverage.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study design.
  • Analysis of injury-related emergency and hospital treatment data.
  • Comparison of relative rates (RR) and confidence intervals (CI) between case and control groups, controlling for age and gender.

Main Results:

  • Children with ASD/PDD had a 1.20 times higher relative rate of emergency/hospital injury treatment compared to controls.
  • Higher rates of head, face, and neck injuries (RR 1.47) were observed in children with ASD/PDD.
  • Significantly higher rates of poisoning (RR 7.6) and self-inflicted injuries (RR 7.6) were found in children with ASD/PDD.

Conclusions:

  • Children with ASD/PDD insured by Medicaid face a greater burden of injury-related emergency care.
  • Specific injury types, including head, face, neck, poisoning, and self-inflicted injuries, require focused attention in this population.
  • Further research and targeted interventions are needed to mitigate injury risks for children with ASD/PDD.

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