Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Apr;33(2):153-160.
doi: 10.1007/s12264-017-0102-9. Epub 2017 Feb 25.

Sex Differences in Diagnosis and Clinical Phenotypes of Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Shihuan Wang  1 , Hongzhu Deng  2 , Cong You  1 , Kaiyun Chen  1 , Jianying Li  1 , Chun Tang  1 , Chaoqun Ceng  1 , Yuanyuan Zou  1 , Xiaobing Zou  3
Affiliations

Sex Differences in Diagnosis and Clinical Phenotypes of Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Shihuan Wang et al. Neurosci Bull. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the differences between boys and girls in the diagnosis and clinical phenotypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China's mainland. Children diagnosed with ASD (n = 1064, 228 females) were retrospectively included in the analysis. All children were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). The results showed that girls scored significantly higher in ADI-R socio-emotional reciprocity than boys, and also scored lower in ADI-R and ADOS restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Meanwhile, the proportions of girls who satisfied the diagnostic cut-off scores in the ADI-R RRBs domain were lower than in boys (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that girls with ASD show greater socio-emotional reciprocity than boys. Girls also tended to show fewer RRBs than boys, and the type of RRBs in girls differ from those in boys. The ADI-R was found to be less sensitive in girls, particularly for assessment in the RRBs domain.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Diagnosis; Sex differences.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S. Autism. Lancet. 2014;383:896–910. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61539-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Elsabbagh M, Divan G, Koh YJ, Kim YS, Kauchali S, Marcín C, et al. Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism Res. 2012;5:160–179. doi: 10.1002/aur.239. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kim YS, Leventhal BL, Koh YJ, Fombonne E, Laska E, Lim EC, et al. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample. Am J Psychiatry. 2011;168:904–912. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10101532. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Blumberg SJ, Bramlett MD, Kogan MD, Schieve LA, Jones JR, Lu MC. Changes in prevalence of parent-reported autism spectrum disorder in school-aged U.S. children: 2007 to 2011–2012. Natl Health. Stat Report. 2013;20:1–11. - PubMed
    1. Fombonne E. Epidemiology of autistic disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders. J Clin Psychiatry. 2005;66(Suppl 10):3–8. - PubMed