Autism prevalent among US kids; nearly 30% receive no treatment

Prevalence of autism

Prevalence of autism

Approximately 3% of American children have received a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in their lifetime, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers noted that although effective behavioral and medication-based treatments are available for children with the condition, almost 30% of children with current diagnoses are not being treated.

“Previous studies suggest that 46% to 56% of children with ASD had taken at least one psychotropic medication in the past year,” Guifeng Xu, MD, from the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and colleagues wrote. “Presently, little is known about the status of behavioral and pharmacological treatment patterns of ASD in children in the United States.”

Xu and colleagues examined data collected from a 2016 nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional survey of 43,032 children aged between 3 and 17 years.

The prevalence of ASD among American children remained “relatively high,” they said, with the weighted prevalence of children who were ever diagnosed estimated to be 2.79%. This number was comparable to a 2016 estimate (2.76%), which was derived from nationally representative data that were published earlier this year by Xu and colleagues.

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Autism prevalence and socioeconomic status: What’s the connection?

Autism prevalence and socioeconomic status

Autism prevalence and socioeconomic status

Fascinating article from The Medical Express

“Children living in neighborhoods where incomes are low and fewer adults have bachelor’s degrees are less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder compared to kids from more affluent neighborhoods.

The finding is part of a new multi-institution study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), led by Maureen Durkin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center, and published recently in the American Journal of Public Health.

Durkin and her team found that the incidence of the disorder increased during the study period. In fact, during the eight years of the study, the overall prevalence of ASD in children more than doubled, increasing from 6.6 to 14.7 cases per thousand children.

“We wanted to see if part of this increase in ASD prevalence was because advances in screening techniques and medical training meant more children from disadvantaged backgrounds were gaining access to ASD diagnoses and services,” says Durkin, a professor of population health sciences and pediatrics at UW-Madison. “It doesn’t seem that’s the case.””

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