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Meta-Analysis
. 2023 May:323:115145.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115145. Epub 2023 Mar 4.

Psychopathological symptoms in parents and siblings of people on the autism spectrum: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ana Cecília Bispo-Torres  1 , Rita Lucena  2 , Ivo César Tavares-Rodrigues  1 , Judah L Barouh  3 , Daniel H Lins-Silva  3 , Ingrid Dorea-Bandeira  4 , Lucca S Souza  3 , Daniela Faria-Guimarães  3 , Arthur Tolentino  1 , Ângela Miranda-Scippa  2 , Daniel F Hermens  5 , Aline S Sampaio  6 , Lucas C Quarantini  6 , Nick Glozier  7 , Ian B Hickie  8 , Igor D Bandeira  9
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Psychopathological symptoms in parents and siblings of people on the autism spectrum: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Ana Cecília Bispo-Torres et al. Psychiatry Res. 2023 May.

Abstract

Parents and siblings of children on the autism spectrum experience significant distress, and for this reason, it is essential to understand the most prevalent psychopathological symptoms among this population. This work aims to establish the prevalence of psychopathological symptoms in parents and siblings of individuals on the autism spectrum, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) criteria. Searches were carried out using the PubMed/Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, SciELO, and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS) databases. Twenty-three articles were included in this review. Depressive symptoms were the most frequently reported conditions, with a higher prevalence in mothers of children on the autism spectrum. In the meta-analysis, mothers of children on the autism spectrum scored higher by 0.42 standard deviations on the symptom scales (SMD 0.42; CI 0.25-0.59), with low statistical heterogeneity (I2 0%, p = 0.5) when compared with mothers of children with atypical development. The psychopathological symptoms of relatives should be investigated as part of the follow-up procedures for the child on the autism spectrum to facilitate their treatment.

Keywords: Anxiety; Autism; Depression; Psychopathology; Relatives.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest Professor Lucas C. Quarantini reports consulting fees from Allergan, Abbot, Janssen Pharmaceutical, and Lundbeck and research fees from Janssen Pharmaceutical. Professor Ian Hickie was an inaugural Commissioner on Australia's National Mental Health Commission (2012–18). He is the Co-Director of Health and Policy at the Brain and Mind centre (BMC) from the University of Sydney. The BMC operates an early-intervention youth service at Camperdown under contract to headspace. He is the Chief Scientific Advisor to, and a 5% equity shareholder in, InnoWell Pty Ltd. InnoWell was formed by the University of Sydney (45% equity) and PwC (Australia; 45% equity) to deliver the $30 M Australian Government-funded Project Synergy (2017–20; a three-year program for the transformation of mental health services) and to lead the transformation of mental health services internationally through the use of innovative technologies.

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