Biomedical subjects

S L Calhoun

Publications and source records attributed to S L Calhoun.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Excessive daytime sleepiness in a general population sample: the role of sleep apnea, age, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

CONTEXT: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is commonly considered a cardinal sign of sleep apnea; however, the mechanism underlying the association is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between the complaint of EDS and sleep apnea, considering a wide range of possible risk factors in a population sample. DESIGN AND SETTING: We examined this question in the Penn State cohort (a random sample of 16,583 men and women from central Pennsylvania, ranging in age from 20 to 100 yr). A random subset of this cohort (n = 1,741) was further evaluated for one night in the sleep laboratory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main measure was a complaint of EDS. RESULTS: The final logistic regression model indicated depression was the most significant risk factor for EDS followed by body mass index, age, typical sleep duration, diabetes, smoking, and finally sleep apnea. The strength of the association with EDS decreased with increasing age, whereas the association of depression with EDS was stronger in the young. EDS is more prevalent in the young (<30 yr), suggesting the presence of unmet sleep needs and depression, and in the very old (>75 yr), suggesting increasing medical illness and health problems. EDS was associated with a reduced report of typical sleep duration without any association with objective polysomnographic measures. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the presence of EDS is more strongly associated with depression and metabolic factors than with sleep-disordered breathing or sleep disruption per se. Our findings suggest that patients with a complaint of EDS should be thoroughly assessed for depression and obesity/diabetes independent of whether sleep-disordered breathing is present.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Outcome following child psychiatric hospitalization.

Admission, discharge, and follow-up evaluations of 110 children admitted to a child psychiatric unit (mean 14 days) showed that the children's psychological functioning improved significantly during hospitalization. Gains were not fully maintained at follow-up (1 and 6 months), but the children were still significantly less impaired after discharge than at admission. A nonsignificant difference existed between follow-up scores, indicating no loss of progress or decline in functioning from 1- to 6-month follow-up. The results are consistent with an ABA (A = no inpatient intervention, B = inpatient intervention, A = no inpatient intervention) treatment effect. They are not explained by removal from and return to an unsatisfactory home environment. Psychological functioning after admission was significantly better than after 1 to 6 months of post-discharge psychiatric services. This study offers a clinically feasible approach to evidence-based practice by documenting patient improvement during and after inpatient treatment using a simple, empirically supported assessment instrument.

Child↗

PubMed2001

Does DSM-IV Asperger's disorder exist?

DSM-IV criteria for autistic and Asperger's disorders were applied to 157 children with clinical diagnoses of autism or Asperger's disorder. All children met the DSM-IV criteria for autistic disorder and none met criteria for Asperger's disorder, including those with normal intelligence and absence of early speech delay. The reason for this was that all children had social impairment and restricted and repetitive behavior and interests (required DSM-IV symptoms for both autistic and Asperger's disorders) and all had a DSM-IV communication impairment (which then qualified them for a diagnosis of autistic disorder and not Asperger's disorder). Communication problems exhibited by all children were impaired conversational speech or repetitive, stereotyped, or idiosyncratic speech (or both), which are DSM-IV criteria for autism. These findings are consistent with those of 5 other studies and indicate that a DSM-IV diagnosis of Asperger's disorder is unlikely or impossible.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Clinical validity and interpretation of the Gordon Diagnostic System in ADHD assessments.

Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) data were analyzed for 165 referred children with ADHD combined type and 46 referred children without ADHD, 6-16 years of age. Results showed significant differences between children with and without ADHD on the GDS standard scores and the IQ-GDS differences scores. Using a GDS composite standard score of 13 points or more below IQ to classify children as having ADHD resulted in the highest diagnostic accuracy (86%), with positive predictive power equal to 91%, and negative predictive power 67%. Results for the GDS compared favorably with those reported for other continuous performance tests. The findings lend support to the GDS as a clinically useful component of an ADHD evaluation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Non-significance of early speech delay in children with autism and normal intelligence and implications for DSM-IV Asperger's disorder.

According to the DSM-IV, children with Asperger's disorder do not have significant cognitive or speech delays, whereas children with autistic disorder may or may not. In our study, children with normal intelligence who had clinical diagnoses of autism or Asperger syndrome were divided into two groups: those with and without a significant speech delay. The purpose was to determine if clinically meaningful differences existed between the two groups that would support absence of speech delay as a DSM-IV criterion for Asperger's disorder. No significant differences were found between the 23 children with a speech delay and the 24 children without a speech delay on any of the 71 variables analyzed, including autistic symptoms and expressive language. Results suggest that early speech delay may be irrelevant to later functioning in children who have normal intelligence and clinical diagnoses of autism or Asperger syndrome and that speech delay as a DSM-IV distinction between Asperger's disorder and autism may not be justified.

Autistic Disorder↗

PubMed1998

Comparison of scores on two recent editions of the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration.

Standard scores on the third and fourth editions of the Developmental Test of Visual-motor Integration (VMI-3 and VMI-4) were compared for a sample of 120 children (4-17 years of age) referred to an outpatient diagnostic clinic for developmental learning, attention, mood, and behavior problems. The two editions of the test have the same items, so the test was administered only once to each child, but the editions differ in their scoring systems and norms. The correlation between the pairs of standard scores on the two editions was .99, and the absolute mean difference between scores was only 1.5 points.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Variables related to outcome following child psychiatric hospitalization.

Children (N = 110) hospitalized on a child psychiatric unit improved significantly in psychological functioning at discharge and 1- and 6-months follow-up relative to their functioning at admission. Children who were more impaired at admission made more progress during admission but were more impaired at follow-up than children who had milder symptoms at admission. Children without a behavior disorder had a better outcome than children with a behavior disorder. None of the other variables, alone or in combination, was significantly related to admission progress or follow-up outcome, including specific diagnoses, gender, race, age, IQ, family functioning, negative life events, parent education and employment, biological family history, length of hospitalization, parent involvement during admission and follow-up services.

Affective Symptoms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Learning disabilities and ADHD: overlapping spectrumn disorders.

Clinical and psychoeducational data were analyzed for 119 children ages 8 to 16 years who were evaluated in a child diagnostic clinic. A learning disability (LD) was present in 70% of the children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with a learning disability in written expression two times more common (65%) than a learning disability in reading, math, or spelling. Children with LD and ADHD had more severe learning problems than children who had LD but no ADHD, and the former also had more severe attention problems than children who had ADHD but no LD. Further, children with ADHD but no LD had some degree of learning problem, and children with LD but no ADHD had some degree of attention problem. Results suggest that learning and attention problems are on a continuum, are interrelated, and usually coexist.

Adolescent↗