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Psychiatric comorbidity and social adjustment difficulties in children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder: A
Yu-Ju Lin1, Wan-Ling Tseng2, Susan Shur-Fen Gau3
1Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University and College of Medicine, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.
Insights
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is rare in Taiwanese children, affecting less than 1% of the population. Children with DMDD experience more psychiatric issues and social difficulties compared to their peers.
Area of Science:
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Investigating Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) in a national sample of Taiwanese children.
- Examining correlates, psychiatric comorbidities, and social adjustment in children diagnosed with DMDD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of DMDD in Taiwanese children.
- To identify associated factors, comorbidities, and social adjustment challenges in children with DMDD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from a national epidemiological study of 4816 children (3rd, 5th, 7th graders) in Taiwan.
- Employed the Kiddie-SADS-E for DSM-5 diagnoses and the SAICA for social adjustment assessment.
- Conducted regression analyses controlling for survey design complexities.
Main Results:
- Weighted prevalence of DMDD was 0.3-0.76% in Taiwanese children.
- Children with DMDD showed lower parental education, male predominance, higher comorbidities, and poorer school functioning.
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) was linked to conduct disorder, with ODD (with or without DMDD) associated with greater school and home-related problems.
Conclusions:
- DMDD is a rare disorder in the community, associated with significant psychiatric comorbidities and subjective difficulties.
- Both DMDD and ODD lead to severe impairment, but in distinct domains of functioning.
Background:
We examined correlates, psychiatric comorbidities, and social adjustment difficulties in children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) from a national epidemiological study in Taiwan.
Methods:
The sample consisted of 4816 children, who were 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders from schools randomly chosen based on the urbanization level in a recent national survey of childhood mental disorders. Among the 4816 children (2520 boys, 52.3%) interviewed using the Kiddie epidemiologic version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-E) for the DSM-5, 30 children were diagnosed as DMDD (23 boys, 76.7%). They and their parents also reported on the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents (SAICA). We conducted regressions for survey data that controlled for stratification and clustering.
Results:
The weighted prevalence of DMDD was 0.3~0.76% in Taiwanese children. Lower parental educational levels, male predominance, higher psychiatric comorbidities, and worse self-report school functions (e.g., more behavioral problems with peers) were observed in children with DMDD than those without. Additional analyses revealed that oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) but not DMDD was related to conduct disorder. Children with ODD with or without DMDD had more problems regarding attitudes toward school, academic performance, and parent-child interaction at home than those with DMDD-only.
Limitations:
Small sample size of DMDD.
Conclusions:
DMDD is a rare disorder in the community. Children with DMDD had more psychiatric comorbidities, and subjectively experienced more difficulties than those without. DMDD and ODD both resulted in severe impairment yet in different domains.
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