ArticleAutism : the international journal of research and practice2024
The use of psychotropic medications in autistic individuals (21 years and younger) in Western Australia: A preliminary investigation.
Article in Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
lay abstractPrescriptions and use of medications to treat mental health conditions in young autistic populations are inconsistent worldwide. This makes it hard to compare findings from international studies to the Australian autistic population, where there are limited relevant studies. Apart from risperidone, there are no other medications specified for direct use in autistic persons. This study aims to gain initial broad understanding of the use of medications, commonly prescribed for mental health conditions, specifically by autistics under the age of 21 years. We analysed data that were previously collected as part of the Western Australian Autism Biological Registry between 2011 and 2015 which amounted to 239 surveys completed on young persons with diagnosed autism. The questionnaires included information on co-occurring conditions, current or previous use of medications and reasons for use of the medications. Only one-quarter of the participants in this study reported using at least one mental health-related medication in their lifetime. The most reported medications were stimulants, antidepressants and antiepileptics. The reasons for using medication included managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, challenging behaviours, seizures, sleep difficulties and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The number of individuals reporting medication use in this study was lower compared to other developed countries. Nevertheless, these medications should be monitored due to limited understanding of their use to manage co-occurring symptoms in young autistic persons. The findings highlight the importance of ongoing research to better understand mental health-related medications and inform best practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.