Contributions of the ELENA Cohort to Study Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents from a Biopsychosocial Framework.

This French study followed 876 children with autism (average age 6) to understand what factors influence autism and how children are doing. Researchers looked at many areas including development, biology, psychology, and family circumstances. They collected information through assessments, parent questionnaires, and medical records. The study aims to help identify risk factors and develop better support strategies using a whole-person approach that considers health, social, and family factors together.

The ELENA cohort study presents baseline characteristics of 876 children with autism spectrum disorder from French regional centers, diagnosed between 2012-2019. This multicenter prospective study employed a biopsychosocial framework to examine developmental, biological, psychological, and socio-demographic factors influencing ASD. The research included direct assessments, parent questionnaires, embedded case-control studies examining risk/protective factors, biospecimen collection, and linkage to national healthcare databases. Key areas examined included socio-adaptive functioning, ASD severity, comorbidities, quality of life, and interventions.

The study emphasizes the importance of holistic, interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and supporting children with ASD through integrated health and social care perspectives.

The biopsychosocial framework approach may inform more comprehensive assessment and intervention strategies for children with ASD. The study suggests value in interdisciplinary collaboration and holistic care models. However, specific clinical recommendations cannot be determined from the available information, as concrete findings are not detailed in the abstract.

The abstract does not provide specific quantitative findings, statistical analyses, or detailed methodological information. Study type is unclear, and specific results regarding risk factors, interventions, or outcomes are not reported. The scope of findings is described generally without concrete data.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition influenced by a myriad of developmental, biological, psychological, and socio-demographic factors. The ELENA cohort seeks to delineate the intricate interplay of these factors, facilitating the identification of risk factors and the development of targeted interventions. This paper emphasizes the clinical profiles of children and outlines key findings from a biopsychosocial perspective. The ELENA cohort, a multicenter initiative across French regional centers, conducted a systematic prospective analysis on children newly diagnosed with DSM-5 ASD between 2012 and 2019.

This encompassed direct assessments and parent-reported questionnaires covering a broad spectrum of developmental, biological, psychological and socio-demographic measures. Embedded case-control studies further examined risk and protective factors, alongside specific environmental and psychosocial influences during pregnancy and early childhood. A subset of participants also contributed biospecimens, with data enhancement via linkage to French National Administrative Healthcare Databases. The study unveils baseline clinical characteristics for 876 children, average age 6 (SD ± 3.3) previously unreported in protocol descriptions.

It highlights the study's developmental biopsychosocial approach and its novel findings on children's socio-adaptive functioning, ASD severity, comorbidities, quality of life and interventions. Employing developmental biopsychosocial insights offers a promising pathway to integrating health, social care, and experiential insights, ultimately aiming to enhance the future well-being and outcomes for children with ASD. This approach underscores the need of a holistic, interdisciplinary strategy in encouraging and supporting the ASD community.