Mental health outcomes of developmental coordination disorder in late adolescence.
Ian Harrowell, Linda Hollén, Raghu Lingam and 1 others
PMID 28512766WHAT IT FOUND
Young people with DCD were more likely to report peer problems in late adolescence.
The link to overall mental health difficulty and depressive symptoms was not clear once social communication difficulties were taken into account.
Key findings
01Adolescents with DCD were more likely than controls to be at high risk of mental health difficulties on the SDQ before adjustment, but the link became weaker after adjustment for social communication difficulties.
02In males with DCD, peer relationship difficulties remained linked to DCD after adjustment for socio-economic factors, IQ, and social communication difficulties.
03Females with DCD were more likely than same-sex controls to report total mental health difficulties and depressive symptoms, but these links became weaker after adjustment for social communication skills.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is an observational cohort, so it cannot show that DCD caused the mental health outcomes. Many participants had missing outcome data. Those with missing data were more likely to be male, have lower IQ, have lower socio-economic status, and have mothers who reported depression. The authors used multiple imputation, but they still noted that drop-out of more severe cases may have led to an underestimation of risk. The risk of mental health difficulty in late adolescence was lower than in earlier ALSPAC analyses, and the authors said attrition may have contributed to this lower observed risk. Mental health outcomes were self-reported questionnaires, not independently diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Several associations became weaker or non-significant after adjustment for social communication difficulties, so the findings should not be read as a direct DCD-to-mental-health effect. The study did not test whether interventions targeting social communication, self-esteem, or peer relationships improve mental health.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest statement is provided in the supplied text. The paper is labelled as supported by non-U.S. government research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that DCD directly causes mental health difficulties in late adolescence. The study is observational, and several associations became weaker or non-significant after adjustment for social communication difficulties.