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High Rates of Psychiatric Co-Morbidity in PDD-NOS

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Abstract

Rates of co-morbid psychiatric conditions in children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) are hardly available, although these conditions are often considered as more responsive to treatment than the core symptoms of PDD-NOS. Ninety-four children with PDD-NOS, aged 6–12 years were included. The DISC-IV-P was administered. At least one co-morbid psychiatric disorder was present in 80.9% of the children; 61.7% had a co-morbid disruptive behavior disorder, and 55.3% fulfilled criteria of an anxiety disorder. Compared to those without co-morbid psychiatric disorders, children with a co-morbid disorder had more deficits in social communication. Co-morbid disorders occur very frequently in children with PDD-NOS, and therefore clinical assessment in those children should include assessment of co-morbid DSM-IV disorders.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO/ZonMw/OOG-100-002-006). The authors would like to thank Michiel van der Hout, Carlien Bos, and Sieds Dieleman for their valuable contribution to the data collection. A version of this paper will be presented at the World Autism Congress, held in Cape Town, South Africa, November 2006.

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Correspondence to Robert F. Ferdinand.

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de Bruin, E.I., Ferdinand, R.F., Meester, S. et al. High Rates of Psychiatric Co-Morbidity in PDD-NOS. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 877–886 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0215-x

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