Psychiatric comorbidities of mild intellectual disability in children and adolescents in a clinical setting.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychiatric disorders that accompany mild intellectual disability (ID) in school-aged children in a clinical setting. The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version interview was conducted with the children with mild ID and their parents to diagnose any comorbid disorders. The mean age of the 111 children that fulfilled the study criteria was 12.09 ± 3.28 years, 59 of them (53.2%) were males, and 80.2% had at least one lifetime comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (64.9%), oppositional defiant disorder (21.6%), anxiety disorders (18.0%), were the most common comorbidities. The correlates of exhibiting comorbid psychiatric disorder were being male and irritability symptoms in the clinical history. Being aware of the comorbid psychiatric disorders and planning treatment strategies toward all of the diagnoses may help in the adaptation and rehabilitation of children with mild IDs.