Prevalence Of Stereotypies Research Articles

Motor stereotypies in autism spectrum disorder: Clinical randomized study and classification proposal.

Motor stereotypies are one of the most frequent features in children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. They may disrupt children's functioning and development and be a potential source of stress for families. Several factors, including sex, age, cognitive ability, and severity of autism spectrum disorder, may influence the presence and intensity of stereotypies. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of motor stereotypies in a group of children with autism spectrum disorder. In addition, it sought to investigate whether sex, age, cognitive ability, verbal language, neurological comorbidities, and severity of autism spectrum disorder were associated with an increased probability and higher number, duration, and variability of stereotypies. A total of 134 participants aged 2.3-17.6 years underwent a clinical protocol with standardized video-recorded sessions. Stereotypies were identified and classified by two independent evaluators. The prevalence of stereotypies was 56.7%, and a total of 1198 motor stereotypies were captured. Children who were younger, nonverbal, and had higher severity of autism spectrum disorder had an increased probability of presenting stereotypies. Being nonverbal or having higher severity of autism spectrum disorder was also associated with presenting a higher number of stereotypies. Children with developmental delay, intellectual disability, or epilepsy displayed longer stereotypies, and children with developmental delay or intellectual disability additionally presented more diverse stereotypies. As part of the study, the authors present a clinical classification model, a glossary, and video samples of motor stereotypies. The findings of this study suggest that children who are younger, nonverbal, have lower cognitive ability, and have higher severity of autism spectrum disorder may have a higher burden of stereotypies. Earlier intervention and monitoring of these children have the potential to improve their long-term outcomes.

Factors Associated With the Development and Prevalence of Abnormal Behaviors in Horses: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Researchers believe that the development and prevalence of abnormal behaviors in horses may be caused by several environmental and biological factors, and the literature offers numerous reports that discuss the causes and effects of stereotypies in these animals. In this light, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature, summarizing the main risk factors associated with the development of abnormal behaviors in horses. The searches were conducted over the course of four years in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. The publications reviewed were full text research thesis or articles that addressed issues within the following criteria: (1) presentation of epidemiological information on the studied population; (2) prevalence of abnormal behaviors in equine populations; (3) factors associated with the development or prevalence of stereotypies. Data were extracted from each study and inserted into an Excel spreadsheet to be analyzed through descriptive statistics. In addition, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to verify the existence of significant differences between the methodologies (direct observation/questionnaires). The dataset was also analyzed through data mining to identify the main factors that influence the prevalence of abnormal behaviors in the studied population. The results showed a great variation in the mean prevalence of abnormal behaviors, with no significant difference between research conducted through questionnaires or direct observation, and the data mining technique identified that incorrect nutritional management may be the main factor influencing the development and prevalence of abnormal behaviors in horses.

Prevalence of Crib-Biting and Weaving in Stabled Horses Tie Stalls

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of crib-biting and weaving in horses stabled in tie stalls and to investigate the relationship between gender, age, and stereotypies. One hundred and seventy-seven half-bred saddle horse residents of a riding school, of both genders and between the ages of 3 and 20, distributed in three buildings with the same management conditions, were observed. For the statistical analysis according to gender, the horses were classified into 2 groups: geldings (n = 110) and mares (n = 67). According to age, the horses were classified into 2 groups: namely, 3 to 7 years old (n = 31) and 8 to 20 years old (n = 146). During three consecutive days, a single evaluator spent one day per building observing the presence or absence of crib-biting and weaving. Each given day was divided into 2 periods of observation: from 7:30 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 20:00. Stereotypies were observed in 4.5% of the horses, i.e., 3.4% of the horses showed crib-biting and 1.1% showed weaving. We did not find horses showing crib-biting and weaving at the same time. No association was found between the prevalence of stereotypies and either gender or age of the horses. Our results suggest that visual and tactile contact with other horses, which occurs in tie-stall housing, could reduce the risk of developing weaving in tie-stall horses but not crib-biting.

Prevalence of stereotypies and its possible causes among captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Tamil Nadu, India

Animals in captivity are often confined in small barren enclosures, preventing adequate exercise, and socialization with conspecifics. Captivity is also known for depriving young individuals’ association with maternal relatives by weaning away from their mothers’ earlier than what their peers experience in free-living populations. Such husbandry practices often lead to various welfare problems among captive animals. In India, Asian elephants are managed in captivity under various systems, for various purposes. To understand the effect of husbandry practices on the welfare of elephants, this study first time from a range country examined the prevalence of stereotypies and its possible causes among 144 captive Asian elephants managed under three captive systems—Private, Hindu Temple and Forest Department—in southern India. Occurrence of stereotypies and its possible influences by factors like age, sex, housing type and its size, duration of chaining and access to conspecific socialization were obtained by direct observations on each elephant and from registers maintained at each facility. Among the systems, the number of elephants with stereotypies was the highest in temple system (49%) followed by private (25%) and the lowest in the forest department (7%). None of the elephants that born in or brought from the wild and managed only at the timber camps was stereotyped. But those transferred from the timber camps to the temple, private and zoo and from the zoo to the timber camps showed stereotypies. Consistent with the prevalence of stereotypies among the three systems, number of elephants managed only at the indoor enclosure and duration of chaining were the highest in temple followed by private and the least in forest department system. The proportion of elephants displaying stereotypies and the proportion of time spent on stereotypies decreased significantly with age, indicating a greater vulnerability of young individuals to stereotypies. Further, logistic regression on prevalence of stereotypies with demographic and welfare parameters revealed that stereotypies decreased significantly with age and free access to conspecific association until juvenile stage, indicating again the juveniles without conspecific association are more susceptible to develop stereotypies. Multiple regression on extent of stereotypies and various daily routines revealed that the extent increased significantly with daily rituals, resting, and marginally with feeding implying that prolonged daily rituals and resting promote its extent. It is argued that deprivation of association with maternal relatives and isolation from conspecifics result in the appearance of stereotypies among elephants in captivity, with younger individuals being more susceptible, perhaps the most active phase of their life being confined by chaining.

Prevalence of stereotypies in thoroughbred race horses at Club Hípico Concepción, Chile

ABSTRACTObjective. To determine the prevalence of classic stereotypies in Thoroughbred racehorses at the Club Hípico Concepción (CHC) in Chile and its association with sex and age. Materials and methods. The entire population of resident horses at the CHC was studied (n=341). Each horse trainer (n=23) was asked for the name, sex and age of the horses under his/her supervision. After that, all the animals were continuously observed inside their stalls for 8 hours by only one person, to record the absence or presence of classic stereotypies (cribbing, weaving, stall-walking). To analyze the data, the animals were divided by sex into 3 groups: stallions, geldings and mares. According to age, they were divided into 2 groups: < 5 years old and 5 years old or more. Descriptive statistics were used and association was tested using the chi square test using p≤0.05. Results. 13.2% of all CHC’s horses displayed stereotypies: cribbing (4.99%), weaving (2.93%) and stall-walking (5.28%). No association was found between the presence of stereotypies and sex or age. Conclusions. Thoroughbred race horses at the CHC showed a high prevalence of classic stereotypies, especially stall-walking.

Behavioral complaints and owners' satisfaction in rabbits, mustelids, and rodents kept as pets

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of behavioral complaints in rabbits, mustelids, and rodents that were kept as pets, to help veterinary practitioners while counseling prospective owners toward an informed and responsible choice of a pet. A total of 193 owners participated in the study, filling in a questionnaire, for a total of 371 pets (184 rabbits, 59 mustelids, 128 rodents). The prevalence reported by owners of behavioral complaints was 31.3% (29.3%, 52.5%, and 20.3% for rabbits, mustelids, and rodents, respectively; χ 2 = 19.6; P 2 = 9.4; P = 0.009). Stereotypic behavioral patterns were reported by owners in 26.4% of the cases (28.3%, 16.9%, and 28.1% for rabbits, mustelids, and rodents, respectively). The owners reported that the prevalence of stereotypies was higher in pets housed more restrictively (Fisher's exact test; P P

Variables affecting the prevalence of behavioural problems in horses. Can riding style and other management factors be significant?

The effects of riding style and various management factors on the prevalence of stereotypies and other behavioural problems among 346 mixed-breed saddle horses (phase 1) and 101 Arabian horses (phase 2) were analysed through a questionnaire answered by owners. In phase 1, the questionnaire data were partially validated through 20-min observations of 81 (23.3%) of the cases. Results indicate that horses primarily ridden in the English style were reported to be significantly more likely to display stereotypies ( p < 0.001), problems when transported ( p = 0.001), multiple behavioural problems ( p < 0.001), and to have more restrictive stabling ( p < 0.001) than horses ridden with other styles. When only Arabian horses were assessed in phase 2, however, there was no significant difference in behavioural problems between the Arabian horses ridden English style versus other riding styles. However Arabian horses were housed less restrictively than horses in phase 1 and English riding style and restrictive stabling tended to exacerbate each other's association with stereotypies. Management-related effects were found when, e.g., horses housed in restrictive stabling were more frequently reported to show locomotion stereotypies ( p = 0.02) and those denied ad libitum hay displayed stereotypic wood-chewing behaviour ( p = 0.02). To aid diagnosing and prioritizing interventions and care, the most predictive subsets of factors were computed for the various problem behaviours. E.g., among saddle horses, a statistical model comprised of the main riding style, duration of access to a paddock, and horse's age predicted whether a horse was reported to display any behavioural problem 62% of the time. This study supports the effects of management and handling on the prevalence of behavioural problems, and helps prioritize the relative importance of broad management categories on equine welfare. In particular, it underscores the importance of riding style on the well-being of saddle horses.

The effect of preweaning and postweaning housing on the behaviour of the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus)

Standard housing for laboratory mice severely restricts natural behaviour and the control that the animal has over its environment. Providing the cage with objects is a method that has been used to both increase environmental complexity, promote the performance of natural behaviour and provide greater controllability for the animal. This method of furnishing cages has mostly been studied in adult animals, and little is known about the influence that the preweaning environment has on the behaviour of mice as adults. This study aimed to investigate the effects on mice behaviour of preweaning and postweaning housing environment. In this experiment, 64 pairs of animals of the strain C57BL/6J were used. Half of the animals were born and reared until weaning in standard cages and the other half in cages twice the size of the standard and furnished with nesting material, a cardboard tube, a PVC nest box and a wooden chewblock. After weaning, half the animals in each group were changed to the other type of cage, whereas the other half remained in the same environment; in both cases they were kept in single-sex pairs of littermates. Behaviour during the dark, active period was studied through video recordings. We found no main effects of preweaning environment on behaviour; however, mice moved from furnished to standard cages at weaning showed a decrease in inactive behaviour at four weeks of age. Mice housed after weaning in standard cages spent less time inactive, and more time engaging in activities like feeding and drinking, self-grooming and allogrooming. A sex difference was also found, in that females showed a greater performance of exploratory behaviour as well as a greater prevalence of stereotypies. The use of different objects and locations within the furnished cage was also analysed at both ages. Results show that at eight weeks of age mice spent more time at the top of the cage, and that the use of the nest box (although not for resting) increased between four and eight weeks. Mice were found to use the nest box as a nesting site/sleeping place only at age four weeks, whereas they always used the nesting material for sleeping.