Adult Functional Outcomes of Common Childhood Psychiatric Problems: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study.

ABSTRACT: Psychiatric problems are among the most common health problems of childhood.To test whether these health problems adversely affect adult functioning even if the problems themselves do not persist.Prospective, population-based study of 1420 participants from 11 predominantly rural counties of North Carolina who were assessed with structured interviews up to 6 times during childhood (9-16 years of age, for a total 6674 observations) for common psychiatric diagnoses and subthreshold psychiatric problems. The period for this study was from 1993 to 2010.A total of 1273 participants were assessed 3 times during young adulthood (19, 21, and 24-26 years of age, for a total of 3215 observations) for adverse outcomes related to health, the legal system, personal finances, and social functioning.Participants with a childhood disorder had 6 times higher odds (odds ratio [OR], 5.9 [95% CI, 3.6-9.7]) of at least 1 adverse adult outcome (ie, indicator) compared with those with no history of psychiatric problems and 9 times higher odds (OR, 8.7 [95% CI, 4.3-17.8]) of 2 or more such indicators (1 indicator: 59.5% vs 19.9% [P

SUBMITTER: Copeland WE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4706225 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature