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.””

You can read the full article here.