Browsing by Author "Nunez, Alicia C."

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    Brief Report: Health-Related Quality of Life in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder is Related to Diagnostic Age and Autistic Symptom Severity
    (2021) Lopez-Espejo, Mauricio A.; Nunez, Alicia C.; Moscoso, Odalie C.; Escobar, Raul G.
    We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore whether clinical characteristics and autism diagnostic-traits severity are associated with caregiver-reported impairment of health-related quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales, Fourth Edition) in 93 Chilean toddlers (age: 2-4 years) with autism spectrum disorder. Median total scale, physical health, and psychosocial health scores were 76 (IQR 70-81), 88 (IQR 81-94), and 71 (IQR 62-79), respectively. In multiple-regression analysis, diagnostic age (beta = 0.219; p 0.021) and Calibrated Severity Score of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, second edition (beta = - 0.434; p < 0.001) were independently correlated to the total scale score. Lower age and higher autistic traits severity at diagnosis are correlated with worse well-being perception by caregivers.
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    Caregiver-Child Agreement in Health-Related Quality of Life of Autistic Children and Adolescents
    (2023) Lopez-Espejo, Mauricio A.; Nunez, Alicia C.; Ruz, Melanie; Saez, Valentina; Moscoso, Odalie C.; Escobar, Raul G.
    This study examined the agreement of perceived health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between caregivers and autistic children and adolescents (n = 133, 5-12 years) using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales, Fourth Edition (PedsQL 4.0). Results reveal good to excellent agreement over this age range across the total, physical, and psychosocial health scales. However, the emotional, social, and school functioning scores demonstrated lower agreement in dyads with children aged 5-7 than in dyads with children aged 8-12 years. Despite these differences in agreement, overall, the PedsQL 4.0 caregiver-module is a reliable instrument for measuring HRQOL in autistic individuals aged 5-12 years.
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    Clinical characteristics of children affected by autism spectrum disorder with and without generalized hypotonia
    (2021) Lopez-Espejo, Mauricio A.; Nunez, Alicia C.; Moscoso, Odalie C.; Escobar, Raul G.
    In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to evaluate the association between generalized hypotonia (GH) and demographic features and clinical characteristics in toddlers (2 to 5 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among 93 children, 32 (34.4%) had GH. These patients had a later onset of independent walking (17 vs. 15 months, p < 0.01), a higher proportion of motor stereotypies (65.6 vs. 27.9%, p < 0.01), a lower mean total score in the parental-reported Generic Core Scale of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (71 vs. 76 points, p 0.03), and a higher mean total score in the Calibrated Severity Score of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule version 2 at diagnosis (6 vs. 5 points, p 0.02) compared to the group without GH.