Anxiety and Depression in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are thought to be at disproportionate risk of developing mental health comorbidities, with anxiety and depression being considered most prominent amongst these. Yet, no systematic review has been carried out to date to examine rates of both anxiety and depression focusing specifically on adults with ASD. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the rates of anxiety and depression in adults with ASD and the impact of factors such as assessment methods and presence of comorbid intellectual disability (ID) diagnosis on estimated prevalence rates. Electronic database searches for studies published between January 2000 and September 2017 identified a total of 35 studies, including 30 studies measuring anxiety (n = 26 070; mean age = 30.9, s.d. = 6.2 years) and 29 studies measuring depression (n = 26 117; mean age = 31.1, s.d. = 6.8 years). The pooled estimation of current and lifetime prevalence for adults with ASD were 27% and 42% for any anxiety disorder, and 23% and 37% for depressive disorder. Further analyses revealed that the use of questionnaire measures and the presence of ID may significantly influence estimates of prevalence. The current literature suffers from a high degree of heterogeneity in study method and an overreliance on clinical samples. These results highlight the importance of community-based studies and the identification and inclusion of well-characterized samples to reduce heterogeneity and bias in estimates of prevalence for comorbidity in adults with ASD and other populations with complex psychiatric presentations

Studies on the helminth parasites of British birds

This thesis consists of four parts, and is based on a survey of the helminth parasites of Hertfordshire birds. Part I. (Section 1), deals with four species of trematodes found in Hertfordshire birds, Lyperosomum longicauda Rudolphi, 1809, Lutztrema monenteron Price & McIntosh, 1935, Dicrocoelioides petiolatum Railliet, 1900 and Brachylaemus fuscatus (Rudolphi, 1819) var. nicolli (Witenberg, 1925). 14 now host records and 1 new record for this country are confirmed. Part I. (Section 2), A new trematode, Reesella doviensis gen, ct sp. nov., from the Oystercatcher is described. (Reprint from J. Helminth. , 30, 81-86. ) Part II deals with sixteen species of cestodes recovered from Hertfordshire birds. Descriptions are given of Choanotaenia unicoronata Fuhrmann, 1908, Dilepis undula Schrank, 1788, Anomotaenia constricta Molin, 1858, A. borealis. Krabbe, 1869, Paricterotaenia parina Dujardin, 1845, Anonchotaenia globata von Linstow, 1879, Hymenolepis serpentulus Rudolphi, 1810, H. stylosa Rudolphi, 1809, H. amphitricha Rudolphi, 1819, H. farciminosa. Goez, 1782, H. fringillarum Rudolphi, 1809, Aploparaksis dujardinii Krabbe, 1869, and Raillietina (Skrjabinia) bonini Megnin, 1899. Three new forms are also described, Anomotaenia verulamii n. sp. from the mistlethrush, Paricterotaenia albani n. sp. from the starling and P. mariae n. sp. from the robin. A total of 13 new host records and 22 new records for this country are confirmed. Part III, (Section 1). deals with seven species of nematodes found in Hertfordshire birds. Descriptions are given of Porrocaecum ensicaudatum Zeder, 1800, Syngamus trachea Montagu 1811, S. merulae Baylis, 1926, Capillaria ovopunctata von Linstow, 1873, C. resecta Dujardin, 1845, C. colubae Rudolphi, 1819, and C. exilis Dujardin, 1845. One new host record and two new records for this country were confirmed. Part III. (Section 2), Descriptions are given of nine further species of Capillaria recovered from birds in Great Britain. They are Capillaria anatis Schrank, 1790, C. contorta Creplin, 1839, C. logicollis. Mehlis, 1831, C. nyrocinarum Madsen, 1945, C. obsignata Madsen, 1945, C. retusa Railliet, 1895, C. spinulosa von Linstow 1803, C. tenuissima Rudolphi, 1803, and C. triloba von Linstow, 1875; Four new host records and ten new records for this country were confirmed, Part IV. The results of a survey of the helminth parasites of Hertfordshire birds are tabulated. A total of 571 birds representing 22 species were examined. Of the birds examined 396 (69.3%) were found to be infected with helminths. During the survey 28 new host records and 25 new records for this country were confirmed. A total of 32 new host records and 35 new records for Great Britain are recorded in this thesis