The SPRINT Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Prevalence of Social Communication PRoblems in Adult Psychiatric INpaTients
IRAS ID
235424
Contact name
Samuel/J Tromans
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research Summary
Problems with Social Communication (PSC), including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD’s), are lifelong and associated with difficulties in social interaction, communication and restricted, repetitive behaviours. Most research has focused on these issues in childhood. Little is known about how common ASD’s and other PSC are among adults, including those admitted to psychiatric hospitals.
Identifying people with ASD’s and other PSC will enable them to access services appropriate for their needs that can improve their quality of life. There is a risk that these people are otherwise incorrectly diagnosed with other mental disorders, and offered treatments unlikely to be helpful for them. Nevertheless, some people have both PSC or ASD and other mental and physical health conditions (comorbidities), though the extent of this problem is poorly understood.
This study aims to:
(1) Estimate how common ASD’s are amongst adults who have been admitted to psychiatric hospitals
(2) Examine the association between other mental and physical health conditions in this population.We will collect data on patient’s ASD test scores (on questionnaires designed to identify possible ASD’s and PSC) and physical and mental health (Phase 1). A subgroup of patients, selected via stratified random sampling according to test scores, will be invited into Phase 2, involving comprehensive ASD diagnostic criteria testing and being interviewed about their other mental and physical health conditions. Patients with intellectual disabilities will bypass Phase 1 ASD tests, progressing directly to Phase 2, where they will be also tested with a questionnaire on stigma experiences.
The study’s findings aim to improve understanding of how common ASD’s are among adults admitted to psychiatric hospitals, and the healthcare needs of this group. This will directly benefit patients with ASD, via enabling us to design inpatient services better suited to identifying them in a psychiatric hospital setting and meeting their healthcare needs.
Summary of Results
Adults who had been admitted to acute psychiatric hospitals took part in the study Of the 27 participants without a learning disability who went onto receive an autism diagnostic assessment, 9 (33%) were found to be autistic (4 of these 9 participants had a previous diagnosis of autism prior to taking part in the study). After adjusting for weighting, non-response and outliers, we estimated that 13.7% (95% CI 6.6-20.7) of this patient group are autistic. The autism quotient (a questionnaire used in this study to select for people to undergo diagnostic assessment) demonstrated acceptable-excellent diagnostic accuracy.
Of the 13 participants with a co-occurring learning disability, 7 (53.8%; 95%CI 22.5-85.2) met autism diagnostic criteria on assessment (6 had a prior diagnosis).
After adjusting for the different age and sex distributions of the different groups, cataracts and eyesight problems were significantly more common among autistic participants.* In conclusion, autism is highly prevalent among adults admitted to acute psychiatric hospitals, where autism identification can be improved through routine screening.*Please note that with respect to the assessment of co-occurring physical and mental health conditions, further analysis has to be conducted as additional Phase 1 data has been since received from other (non-Leicester) sites [i.e. between January to June 2021] (this will not affect the autism prevalence estimate).
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0009
Date of REC Opinion
22 Feb 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion