Trends in autism.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of historical and regional epidemiological data without systematic search methodology.
PubMed 15148861 · doi:10.1515/ijamh.2004.16.1.75
What was done
Narrative review examining historical and post-1985 published epidemiological data on the prevalence and incidence of autism and pervasive developmental disorders across the UK, Sweden, the US, and Israel.
What was found
Pre-1985 studies reported prevalence rates of about 2 per 10,000 for classic autism and 4 to 5 per 10,000 for the broader autism spectrum. Studies published after 1985 reported substantially higher rates: - UK: 16.8 per 10,000 for autistic disorder and 62.6 per 10,000 for all autism spectrum disorders. - Sweden: 36 per 10,000 for Asperger syndrome, 35 per 10,000 for social impairment, totaling 71 per 10,000 for suspected/possible cases. - US: 40 per 10,000 for autistic disorder and 67 per 10,000 for autism spectrum disorders among children aged 3–10 years. - Israel (Haifa area, birth years 1989–1993): incidence of 10 per 10,000 for autism.
Why it matters
Documents the multi-country rise in reported autism diagnoses through the early 2000s, emphasizing that evolving diagnostic criteria and definitions occurred alongside the observed increase.
Limits
The abstract describes an unsystematic narrative overview without formal meta-analytic pooling. Diagnostic criteria, case definition, age ranges, and ascertainment methods varied substantially across the cited international reports, confounding true incidence trends with diagnostic changes.
Cited by
- context Autism prevalence in children has increased from 1 in 10,000 to approximately 1 in 130 over recent decades.