The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among sub-Saharan African children with intellectual disability is about 0.7% more than three decades ago. During this period, the prevalence of ASD has been on the increase worldwide. Studies are not available in recent times addressing epidemiology of ASD among sub-Saharan African children. The present study assessed the prevalence of ASD among Nigerian children with intellectual disability. Forty four children with intellectual disability were assessed for diagnosis of childhood autism based on criteria specified in F84.0 section of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) Diagnostic Criteria for Research. Five (11.4%) of the children studied met the diagnostic criteria for childhood autism. Male/female ratio was 4:1. There is need for large scale epidemiological studies of ASD among sub-Saharan African children to clearly define the inter-relationship between ASD and intellectual disability in this population and to help in health care policy formulation.

BackgroundSchool based mental health programs are absent in most educational institutions for intellectually disabled children and adolescents in Nigeria and co-morbid behavioral problems often complicate intellectual disability in children and adolescents receiving special education instructions. Little is known about prevalence and pattern of behavioral problems existing co-morbidly among sub-Saharan African children with intellectual disability. This study assessed the prevalence and pattern of behavioral problems among Nigerian children with intellectual disability and also the associated factors.MethodTeachers' rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to screen for behavioral problems among children with intellectual disability in a special education facility in south eastern Nigeria. Socio-demographic questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information of the children.ResultsA total of forty four (44) children with intellectual disability were involved in the study. Twenty one (47.7%) of the children were classified as having behavioral problems in the borderline and abnormal categories on total difficulties clinical scale of SDQ using the cut-off point recommended by Goodman. Mild mental retardation as compared to moderate, severe and profound retardation was associated with highest total difficulties mean score. Males were more likely to exhibit conduct and hyperactivity behavioral problems compared to the females. The inter-clinical scales correlations of teachers' rated SDQ in the studied population also showed good internal consistency (Cronbach Alpha = 0.63).ConclusionSignificant behavioral problems occur co-morbidly among Nigerian children with intellectual disability receiving special education instructions and this could impact negatively on educational learning and other areas of functioning. There is an urgent need for establishing school-based mental health program and appropriate screening measure in this environment. These would afford early identification of intellectually disabled children with behavioral problems and appropriate referral for clinical evaluation and interventions. The need to focus policy making attention on hidden burden of intellectual disability in sub-Saharan African children is essential.

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Background: There may be need to assess intelligent quotient (IQ) scores in sub-Saharan African children with intellectual disability, either for the purpose of educational needs assessment or research. However, modern intelligence scales developed in the western parts of the world suffer limitation of widespread use because of the influence of socio-cultural variations across the world. This study examined the agreement between IQ scores estimation among Nigerian children with intellectual disability using clinicians' judgment based on International Classification of Diseases, tenth Edition

IntroductionThere is a dearth of data on heritability of schizophrenia in Africa. The few African studies that addressed familial psychiatric morbidity in schizophrenia involved relatively small sample sizes and addressed psychiatric morbidity only in first-degree relatives. The present study sought to improve upon the methodology of previous African studies, and widen the scope to second- and third-degree relatives with a view to enriching the field of genetic epidemiology in Africa.MethodsThis study elicited information on the morbid risk of schizophrenia amongst 5259 relatives of schizophrenia probands (n = 138) and 6734 relatives of healthy controls (n = 138) through direct interview of patients, available relatives of patients and controls. Diagnosis of probands was confirmed using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Through a direct interview of 138 patients and their available relatives, a family history approach using the Family Interview for Genetic Studies was utilised to obtain information on the morbid risk for all relatives that could be recalled. The same approach was utilised for the interview of the controls (aged 45 years and above) and their relatives. Morbid risk estimates were calculated using the Weinberg shorter method.ResultsMorbid risk for schizophrenia in the first-, second- and third-degree relatives of schizophrenia probands was 10.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 10.6–11.2), 4.2% (95% CI = 4.1–4.3) and 3.9% (95% CI = 3.6–4.2), respectively, compared with 2.6% (95% CI = 2.5–2.7), 1.6% (95% CI = 1.5–1.7) and 1.5% (95% CI = 1.4–1.6), respectively, of the healthy control group.ConclusionThe findings support the widely noted impression that schizophrenia significantly aggregates in families of schizophrenia probands more than healthy controls.