Kerim Munir

Kerim Munir
Boston Children's Hospital · Division of Developmental Medicine

MD, MPH, DSc

About

218
Publications
51,872
Reads
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6,184
Citations
Additional affiliations
August 2014 - March 2021
Harvard University
Position
  • Fellow
February 1997 - present
Boston Children's Hospital
Position
  • Attending Psychiatrist

Publications

Publications (218)
Article
Full-text available
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...
Chapter
Full-text available
This is an open-access handbook focusing on aspects of the psychiatry of intellectual developmental disorders (IDD), also known as intellectual disability and learning disability, with invited authorship from both high and low-and-middle-income countries. The handbook is intended to be aspirational in sharing comparable experiences across various...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives. To assess knowledge of ethics knowledge among child healthcare professionals. Methods. We translated the Test of Residents’ Ethics Knowledge for Pediatrics (TREK-P) in Azeri and administered it to: (i) third-year medical students (n = 21), (ii) pediatrics residents (n = 24), (iii) practicing pediatricians (n = 21), and (iv) fellows (n =...
Chapter
Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition involving deficits in both intellectual and adaptive functioning. Individuals with intellectual disability experience a greater burden of co-occurring physical and mental illness compared to the general population, and often need a significant degree of support from healthcare professionals and carers...
Article
Full-text available
Background In January 2022 Kazakhstan experienced unprecedented nationwide protests that quickly turned to violent riots. Although the number of individuals affected physically by the disturbances were cited, the emotional toll of the events remains undetermined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the comparative rates of acute stress reactions...
Preprint
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Purpose: To study attitudes among parents of probands with rare pediatric-onset neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders on Clinical Genetic Testing (CGT). Methods: We administered an 8-item direct structured questionnaire comprising statements regarding attitudes on CGT to 101 consenting parents of probands enrolled in the Central Asia and Tr...
Article
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Background: Substantive literature has assessed the impact of starting school at younger ages relative to peers on health in high-income countries (HICs), but there is little evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Conclusions drawn from HICs may not apply to different education contexts and health threats. This study maps the empi...
Article
There are strong individual differences in adaptive behaviors (AB) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with conflicting results in literature about specific patterns and related factors. The present study aims to describe AB and identify related factors in terms of clinical and socio-familial characteristics in 875 children and adolescents with ASD i...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: To assess knowledge of pediatric research ethics in an Azerbaijan child healthcare community. Methods: We translated the Test of Residents’ Ethics Knowledge for Pediatrics (TREK-P) in Azeri and administered it to four groups: (i) third-year medical students (n=21), (ii) pediatrics residents (n=24), (iii) experienced pediatricians (n=21)...
Article
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic may affect the screen time of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study aimed to examine the screen time of children and adolescents with ASD during a discrete lockdown period in France and identify risk factors for excessive screen time. Methods The study sample consisted of 249 ASD...
Article
Objectives To explore geographical variations in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying and their individual and additive role on psychological and somatic health issues of adolescents. Methods We used cross-sectional data from 188,003 adolescents (50.9% females; mean age 13.6 years) from the nationally representative Health Behaviour in...
Article
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Introduction The emotional, behavioral and psychosocial effects of chaotic environments following wars and armed conflicts in terms of exposure to trauma and displacement is well recognized. School-age children who are directly exposed to or witnessed negative effects of armed conflicts show an array of emotional and behavioral problems. Objective...
Article
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Background: Modifiable non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors are becoming increasingly common among adolescents, with clustering of these risk factors in individuals of particular concern. The aim of this study was to assess global status of clustering of common modifiable NCD risk factors among adolescents. Methods: We used latest availabl...
Article
Full-text available
Psychiatric comorbidity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a subject of critical scientific importance, affecting the quality of life, prognosis, and functional outcomes. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders vary considerably according to variables such as index subject characteristics, study setting, sampling frame, diagnostic methods used, a...
Book
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This textbook provides a state of the art of the knowledge on the prevalence, risk and etiological factors, clinical features, assessment procedures and tools, diagnostic criteria, treatment, and prognosis of the psychiatric disorders encountered in people with intellectual disability (ID) and low-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ID and...
Chapter
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a highly heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental conditions with early-onset impairments in social communication and unusually restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. The global prevalence of ASD is about 1%. Genetic factors underlie important ASD risk with greater recognition of the impact of rar...
Chapter
Intelligence and intellectual disability (ID) or intellectual developmental disorder (IDD), according to the most recent terminology, might not be natural kinds but the result of a historically contingent human attempt of self-definition and self-characterization. The seeds of intelligence as a measure for classifying humans were sown at the end of...
Article
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Unlabelled: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of different forms of bullying victimization experiences and their association with family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness among adolescents across 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs). Data were drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-Age...
Article
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Background We assessed the feasibility of implementing psychological counseling services (PCS) for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) integrated within special education settings in urban Bangladesh. Method In two special education schools for ASD in Dhaka City, trained female psychologists screened mothers using the Patient...
Article
Full-text available
Informant-report measures for screening symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are needed for low-resource settings if early identification is to be prioritized because early developmental concerns are likely to be expressed by parents and other caregivers. This paper describes the initial psychomet...
Article
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Background In the pandemic time, many low- and middle-income countries are experiencing restricted access to COVID-19 vaccines. Access to imported vaccines or ways to produce them locally became the principal source of hope for these countries. But developing a strategy for success in obtaining and allocating vaccines was not easy task. The governm...
Article
Full-text available
Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is challenging due to its phenotypic and etiological heterogeneity, but critical for implementation of early interventions. We examined the age of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a sample of 554 children and adolescents enrolled in the ELENA cohort study in France with regard to the influences of ch...
Article
Research evidence is required to guide health policy and capacity development on specific health condition. Despite the high prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) worldwide, there is dearth of data in the West African sub-region to inform evidence-based policy and practice. This review aimed to describe the volume and scope of existing rese...
Article
The study investigated behavioral measures of social distance (i.e., desired proximity between self and others in social contexts) as an index of stigma against those with mental illness among medical students in Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Poland, using the Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS), a standar...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: This study aimed to estimate the global level prevalence of different forms of bullying victimization experiences and their association with family functioning, peer relationships and school connectedness among adolescents across 40 lower and middle income to high-income countries (LMIC-HICs). Methods: Data were drawn from the Health B...
Article
Background The Covid-19 pandemic had a strong impact on mental health in the general population. This study conducted during the first lockdown in France considered parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prospectively followed in the ELENA Cohort. Objectives We aimed to (1) compare the Anxiety and Depression (AaD) levels during th...
Poster
Full-text available
Motivation: Schizophrenia (SCZ) and Bipolar disorder (BP) are highly prevalent 1, 2 and disabling psychiatric disorders. Diagnosis of the two disorders and their differential diagnosis are challenging and require longitudinal observation. In this study, we utilized fNIRS based dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) and machine learning techniques to...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction The present aimed to examine the mental health conditions of children, ages 7-11 years, living in conditions of war and conflict conditions in two districts of a Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. Objectives The study surveyed teachers of 617 primary school children (mean age 8.9, SD 1.24; 50.7% female) across nine schools in Agdam and Kar...
Article
Full-text available
The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a globally recognized scale for the measurementof subjective well-being in more than thirty six languages. Currently there is no adaptedversion of the SCWS in Azerbaijani language. The aim of the present study was to completeforward and backward translations of the SWLS and maintaining equivalence to exami...
Article
Background Containment, involving separation and restriction of movement of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and mitigation, also referred to as lockdown, involving closure of schools, universities and public venues, has had a profound impact on people’s lives globally. The study focuses on the effects of containment and mitigation measures, on...
Article
Theory of Mind (ToM) deficits interfere in social cognitive functioning in schizophrenia (SCZ) and are increasingly recognized to do so in bipolar disorder (BD), however their clinical and neurobiological correlates remain unclear. This study represents the first direct comparison of subjects with SCZ (N= 26), BD (N=26) and healthy controls (N= 33)...
Article
Abstract Objective The neurobiological correlates of Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) introduced in the DSM-5 has been the focus of a limited investigation. We aimed to examine the cortical response to painful stimuli and its relationship to symptom severity as well as cognitive and psychological characteristics in proposed models of somatoform disor...
Article
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Background: This paper outlines the need for a health systems approach and rapid response strategy for gathering information necessary for policy decisions during pandemics and similar crises. It suggests a new framework for assessing the phases of the pandemic. Method: The paper draws its information and conclusions from a rapid synthesis and tran...
Article
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Aim: To summarise commonalities and variations in the mental health response to COVID-19 across different sites and countries, with a view to better understanding key steps not only in crisis management, but for future systemic reform of mental health care. Method: We conducted a Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process of lessons learned from an in...
Article
Full-text available
The study assessed the feasibility of using a Turkish-version of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R/F) as a screening tool for an urban low risk population of young children. M-CHAT-R/F was completed for 6712 children between ages 16 and 36 months living in Istanbul, Turkey. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 was...
Chapter
Developmental disabilities (DD) refer to a wide range of conditions manifesting in childhood by affecting skills normally acquired in infants and children over time (such as motor and communication skills as well as overall learning abilities) and typically persisting into adulthood. Despite the formal protection of an existing legal framework that...
Article
Background The cognitive and emotional vulnerability of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and their response to repeated experiences of social rejection and social acceptance are important factors for the emergence and maintenance of symptoms of the disorder. Functional neuroimaging studies of SAD reveal hyperactivity in regions involv...
Article
Full-text available
Background Suicidal ideation and anxiety are common among adolescents although their prevalence has predominantly been studied in high income countries. This study estimated the population prevalence of suicidal ideation and anxiety and their correlates with peer support, parent-adolescent relationship, peer victimization, conflict, isolation and l...
Article
Full-text available
This appendix formed part of the original submission and has been peer reviewed. We post it as supplied by the authors. Supplement to: Martínez-Leal R, Folch A, Munir K, et al. The Girona declaration on borderline intellectual functioning. Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7: e8.
Data
With the development of the latest DSM and ICD classifications, borderline intellectual functioning has ceased to be conceptualised as a diagnostic code and is increasingly less a focus of clinical attention. Even though DSM 5 does not provide a specific recommendation for identification of borderline intellectual functioning, unlike the ICD, it ad...
Article
Full-text available
Children and adolescents with ASD are increasingly included in regular school settings, however little is known about how placement decisions are made. In the present study, we examined the types and duration of school attendance among children and adolescents in the ELENA Cohort, a multi-center study of children and adolescents with ASD, ages 2–16...
Article
Full-text available
Background Bullying victimisation is a global public health problem that has been predominantly studied in high income countries. This study aimed to estimate the population level prevalence of bullying victimisation and its association with peer and parental supports amongst adolescents across low and middle income to high income countries (LMICHI...
Article
Full-text available
Background: To examine whether Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult psychiatric morbidity. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal data derived from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine whether BIF and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predi...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background : To examine whether Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult psychiatric morbidity. Methods : We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal data derived from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine whether BIF and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predic...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background : To examine whether Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult psychiatric morbidity. Methods : We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal data derived from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine whether BIF and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predic...
Article
Full-text available
This cross‐sectional study examined the burden of depression and quality of life (QoL) among mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) attending six schools offering special educational services for children with ASD in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. All consenting mothers were 18 years of age and older and met criteria for major depressive...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: To examine whether Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult psychiatric morbidity. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal data derived from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine whether BIF and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict...
Conference Paper
Cortical activity during social acceptance and rejection in social anxiety disorder B. Baskak 1 , ∗, Y. Kır 2 , D. Sayar Akaslan 1 , E. A ˘gta ¸s Ertan 1 , A. Ku ¸s man 1 , N. Sedes Baskak 3 , Z. Baran 4 , K. Münir 5 1 Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey 2 Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Psychiatry, Anka...
Article
The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) was developed as a self-report measure to screen four high-risk personality dimensions (hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking) that predict specific patterns of vulnerability to substance use and other problematic behavior. The scale has previously been shown to have adequ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Purpose To examine whether Borderline Intellectual Functioning (BIF) and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult psychiatric morbidity. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of longitudinal data derived from the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study to examine whether BIF and Adverse Childhood Experiences independently predict adult...
Article
Full-text available
There is limited data on long-term outcome of ASD with co-occurring intellectual disabilities (ID) and challenging behaviours in France. The EpiTED period cohort is a 15 years longitudinal study of the developmental trajectories of 281 children initially recruited at mean age of 5 years. Two contrasted developmental trajectories were identified. Lo...
Article
Full-text available
Results of the behavioral studies suggest that attachment styles may have an enduring effect upon theory of mind (ToM). However biological underpinnings of this relationship are unclear. Here, we compared securely and insecurely attached first grade university students (N = 56) in terms of cortical activity measured by 52 channel Functional Near In...
Article
Full-text available
Background Few studies have used preference-based quality-of-life outcomes to assess how autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect children and parents, and none have examined variation by ASD severity. Objective Our objective was to derive parent valuations of child and parent health associated with varying ASD severity levels. Methods Parents of...
Article
Persons with serious mental illness and their families in low- and middle-income households continue to face important challenges and barriers to care. In Azerbaijan, the needs of individuals with serious mental illness have been studied to gain insight for improvement of mental health policy and research. This column describes needs assessment wor...
Article
Introduction: Research about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in sub-Saharan Africa is sparse and limited. However, research studies coming from Nigeria in West Africa as a country have contributed significantly to the subject of ASD in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods and results: This study is a scoping review of research literature on ASD in Nigeria...
Article
Background Challenging behaviours are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but little is known about the prevalence and course of these behaviours during adulthood. The aims of this study were to describe the topography of challenging behaviours in a cohort of 106 young adults with ASD and to identify t...
Article
More than 2·5 billion children and adolescents exist worldwide, with most individuals living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).1 For these children and adolescents, mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders remain one of the leading causes of the global burden of disease and years lived with disability.2 Although the importance...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported a higher level of depression than mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders in both developed and developing countries. Mothers are the lifetime caregivers of children with ASD, and a high burden of depression can negatively impact their ability to...
Article
Full-text available
We investigate the possibility of improving access to interventions among mothers screened positive for post-partum depression (PPD) at National Programme on Immunization (NPI) clinics randomly selected from Lagos and Enugu States in south-western and south-eastern Nigeria respectively. The principle of human centred design was employed by engaging...
Article
This paper addresses the preconditions and process of development of bioethics education in Azerbaijan as the result of international cooperation, specifically with the bodies of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Introduction of the “Bioethics and Medical Law” training course and experience of its teachi...
Chapter
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In this chapter, we discuss a transformative change in Turkey that has witnessed a decline in the number of institutional residential care centers (“orphanages”) over the course of the past two decades. In great part this transformation was possible as a result of collaborative, interdisciplinary evidence-based studies in conjunction with changes i...
Article
Full-text available
The arguments set forth by religious authority are important since it play a crucial role in shaping the social values of the public and influence the decision of individuals in the practice pertaining to bioethical issues. The Religious Affairs Administration (RAA) was established at the inception of the Republic of Turkey in 1924 to guide religio...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported a higher level of depression than mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders in both developed and developing countries. Mothers are the lifetime caregivers of children with ASD, and a high burden of depression can negatively impact their ability to pr...