Association of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Traits with Depression and Empathy Among Medical Students

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Characteristics and Descriptive Statistical Data of Medical Students

	n = 151
	Number (%, 95% CI)
Gender (female)	52 (34.4, 26.9–42.6)
Alcohol consumption more than 3 times/week	22 (14.6, 9.4–21.2)
Participation in extracurricular activities	102 (67.5, 59.5–74.9)
Living alone	54 (35.8, 28.1–44.0)
History of enrollment in other faculties	7 (4.6, 1.9–9.3)
A part-time employment	104 (68.9, 60.8–76.2)
With depression *	41 (27.2, 20.2–35.0)
With ADHD traits **	31 (20.5, 14.4–27.9)
With ASD traits ***	42 (27.8, 20.8–35.7)
	Mean (SD)
Age (years)	23.70 (1.67)
ASRS Screener	2.30 (1.62)
AQ-J-21	9.30 (3.83)
HADS total	15.21 (6.53)
JSE	101.06 (14.80)

Notes: *HADS score of 20 or higher was defined as having depression, **ASRS screener score of 4 or higher was defined as having ADHD traits, ***AQ-J-21 score of 12 or higher was defined as having ASD traits.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; AQ-J, Autism-Spectrum Quotient, Japanese version; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; ASRS, Adult ADHD Self Report Scale; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; JSE, Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version; CI, confidence interval; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Demographic Characteristics and Descriptive Statistical Data of Medical Students Grouped by the Presence of Depression*

	Student without Depression (N=110)	Student with Depression (N=41)	Significance Tests**
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Gender (female)	42 (38.2)	10 (24.4)	F(1) = 1.94, p-value = 0.16
Alcohol consumption more than 3 times/week	14 (12.7)	8 (19.5)	F(1) = 0.63, p-value = 0.43
Participation in extracurricular activities	78 (70.9)	24 (58.5)	F(1) = 1.56, p-value = 0.21
Living alone	71 (64.5)	26 (63.4)	F(1) = 0.00, p-value = 1
Presence of a part-time job	84 (76.4)	20 (48.8)	F(1) = 9.35, p-value = 0.002***
History of enrollment in other faculties	0 (0.0)	7 (17.1)	F(1) = 16.021, p-value = 0.000***
	Number (%)	Number (%)
Age	23.41 (1.03)	24.46 (2.58)	U = 1825.5, p-value = 0.059
ASRS Screener	1.98 (1.54)	3.15 (1.56)	U = 1319, p-value = 0.000***
AQ-J-21	8.89 (3.92)	10.39 (3.39)	t = −2.1639, p-value = 0.032***
JSE	104.07 (14.04)	92.98 (13.87)	U = 3225.5, p-value = 0.000***

Notes: *Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score of 20 or higher was defined as depression; **Chi-squared tests for categorical data. Mann–Whitney U-test or t-test for numerical data; ***p < 0.05.

Abbreviations: ASRS, Adult ADHD Self Report Scale; AQ-J, Autism-Spectrum Quotient, Japanese version; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; JSE, Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Between Depression and ADHD/ASD Traits, Adjusted by Gender and Age

		β (95% CI*)	Multiple R^2
HADS	Constant	−11.78(−25.29, 1.73)	0.245
	Gender	0.69 (−1.29, 2.66)
	Age	0.85 (0.29, 1.42)
	ASRS Screener	1.10 (0.48, 1.72)
	AQ-J-21	0.40 (0.14, 0.66)

Note: Bold text indicates statistical significance at p  <  0.05.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; AQ-J, Autism-Spectrum Quotient, Japanese version; ASD, autism spectrum disorder; ASRS, Adult ADHD Self Report Scale; CI, confidence interval; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Table 4 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Between Empathy and ADHD/ASD Traits, Adjusted by Gender and Age

		β (95% CI*)	Multiple R^2
JSE	Constant	126.31 (94.25, 158.36)	0.151
	Gender	−0.99(−5.67, 3.69)
	Age	−0.40 (−1.74, 0.94)
	ASRS Screener	−0.98235 (−2.44, 0.47)
	AQ-J-21	−1.38 (−2.00, −0.77)

Note: Bold text indicates statistical significance at p  <  0.05.

Abbreviations: ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; AQ-J, Autism-Spectrum Quotient, Japanese version; ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder; ASRS, Adult ADHD Self Report Scale; CI, confidence interval; JSE, Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student version.