ABSTRACT
The present study describes
the occurrence of psychiatric comorbid disorders in a
cohort of 86 high functioning autism (HFA)/Asperger syndrome (AS) patients,
examined at Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit of Tor Vergata University. 38
patients out of 86 (44.2%) presented one or more psychiatric comorbidities,
such as mood disorders, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
Tourette syndrome (TS), anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD), and psychotic symptoms. We compared our sample with the
evidences from the scientific literature on psychiatric comorbidity in ASD
patient, in particular in HFA/AS. In this paper we focus on the high frequency
of comorbid psychiatric disorders in HFA/AS patients, such as mood disorders, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD), Tourette syndrome (TS), anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD), and psychosis, including schizophrenia. We analyzed rates of
all psichiatric comorbidities diagnosed in a sample of HFA/AS subjects and we
compared findings from our study with the evidences from the scientific literature
on psychiatric comorbidity in ASD patients, in particular HFA/AS. We point out
that comorbid psychiatric symptoms can be hardly diagnosed, because they
could present atipically in ASDs then in general
population. Furthermore, they could be masked by ASD core symptoms.
Share and Cite:
Giovinazzo, S. , Marciano, S. , Giana, G. , Curatolo, P. and Porfirio, M. (2013) Clinical and therapeutic implications of psychiatric comorbidity in high functioning autism/Asperger syndrome: An Italian study.
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
3, 329-334. doi:
10.4236/ojpsych.2013.33034.