Risk of autism spectrum disorder and association of its symptoms with psychiatric and substance use disorders in non-clinical student sample in Kenya: cross-sectional study

• Published in: BJPsych open 2023-08, Vol.9 (5), p.e160-e160, Article e160
• Main Authors: Mutiso, Victoria N., Ndetei, David M., Muia, Esther N., Masake, Monicah, Alietsi, Rita K., Onsinyo, Lydia, Musyimi, Christine, Mamah, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Anxiety; ASD; Autism; Bipolar disorder; Chi-square test; Comorbidity; Consent; Cross-sectional studies; Data collection; Drug use; Ethics; Intellectual disabilities; Intellectual Disability; Kenyan students; Mental disorders; patterns; Pediatrics; Post traumatic stress disorder; psychiatric and substance use disorders; Psychosis; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; risk; Secondary schools; Sociodemographics; Substance use disorder; University students; Victimization
• ISSN: 2056-4724; 2056-4724
• DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2023.503

BackgroundThe prevalence and patterns of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms/traits and the associations of ASD with psychiatric and substance use disorders has not been documented in non-clinical students in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya in particular.AimsTo document the risk level of ASD and its traits in a Kenyan student population (high school, college and university) using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ); and to determine the associations between ASD and other psychiatric and substance use disorders.MethodThis was a cross-sectional study among students (n = 9626). We used instruments with sufficient psychometric properties and good discriminative validity to collect data. A cut-off score of ≥32 on the AQ was used to identify those at high risk of ASD. We conducted the following statistical tests: (a) basic descriptive statistics; (b) chi-squared tests and Fisher's exact tests to analyse associations between categorical variables and ASD; (c) independent t-tests to examine two-group comparisons with ASD; (d) one-way analysis of variance to make comparisons between categorical variables with three or more groups and ASD; (e) statistically significant (P < 0.05) variables fitted into an ordinal logistic regression model to identify determinants of ASD; (f) Pearson's correlation and reliability analysis.ResultsOf the total sample, 54 (0.56%) were at high risk of ASD. Sociodemographic differences were found in the mean scores for the various traits, and statistically significant (P < 0.05) associations we found between ASD and various psychiatric and substance use disorders.ConclusionsRisk of ASD, gender characteristics and associations with psychiatric and substance use disorders are similar in this Kenyan sample to those found in Western settings in non-clinical populations.