Association of Rigid-Compulsive Behavior with Functional Constipation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sarah Marler; Bradley J Ferguson; Evon Batey Lee; Brittany Peters; Kent C Williams; Erin McDonnell; Eric A Macklin; Pat Levitt; Kara Gross Margolis; David Q Beversdorf; Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3084-6

Association of Rigid-Compulsive Behavior with Functional Constipation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Jun;47(6):1673-1681. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3084-6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
² Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
³ Departments of Pediatrics, Psychology, and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁵ Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Institute for the Developing Mind's Developmental Neurogenetics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁷ Departments of Neurogenetics, Pediatrics, Neuroscience, Pharmacy, Psychiatry, Pathology and Psychology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, The Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Departments of Radiology, Neurology, and Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. veenstr@nyspi.columbia.edu.
¹¹ New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA. veenstr@nyspi.columbia.edu.
¹² New York Presbyterian Hospital, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, 1051 Riverside Drive, Mail Unit 78, New York, NY, USA. veenstr@nyspi.columbia.edu.

Abstract

Based upon checklist data from the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network, we hypothesized that functional constipation (FC) would be associated with rigid-compulsive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used the Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms-Rome III to assess FC symptoms in 108 children with ASD. As hypothesized, FC was associated with parent ratings on the Repetitive Behavior Scales-Revised (RBS-R) Compulsive, Ritualistic, and Sameness subscales in the overall population. Of note, FC was less common in children who were not taking medications that target behavior or treat FC. In the medication-free children, rigid-compulsive behavior was not significantly associated with FC. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these associations.

Keywords: Developmental; Enteric; Gut; Medical comorbidity; Microbiome; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Serotonin.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Autism Spectrum Disorder / diagnosis*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology*
Checklist
Child
Compulsive Behavior / diagnosis*
Compulsive Behavior / psychology*
Constipation / diagnosis*
Constipation / psychology*
Female
Gastrointestinal Diseases / diagnosis
Gastrointestinal Diseases / psychology
Humans
Male
Parents / psychology
Prospective Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding