Obesity and co-occurring conditions among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: The National Survey of Children’s Health 2017–2018

Abstract

BackgroundGiven the increased risk of obesity and neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research on potential associations between obesity and such co-occurring conditions in this population is warranted. This study examined the prevalence of and association between obesity and neurodevelopmental and mental health co-occurring conditions among adolescents with ASD aged 10–17 years (n = 911) using 2017–2018 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. MethodsFrequency distributions were generated, and chi-square tests were conducted to examine the association between obesity and several co-occurring conditions. For conditions that were significantly associated with obesity in the chi-square tests, crude odds of obesity were calculated, and multiple logistic regression was conducted to adjust for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and household income. ResultsThe prevalence of obesity was 25.1 %. Based on chi-square tests, obesity was significantly associated with depression (p < 0.0001), anxiety (p = 0.0096), and Tourette Syndrome (p = 0.0330). There was no association between obesity and intellectual disability, learning disability, speech problems, developmental delay, epilepsy or seizure disorder, cerebral palsy, or ADHD. Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, the odds of obesity were increased among those with depression (OR 3.0, 95 % CI 1.7–5.1) and anxiety (OR 2.3, 95 % CI 1.2–4.6) but not Tourette Syndrome. ConclusionsOdds of obesity were greater among adolescents with ASD who also had depression and anxiety. Longitudinal studies are needed to explore the directionality of associations between obesity and mental health co-occurring conditions, such as depression and anxiety, among adolescents with ASD.