Pediatrics Reports—
One in 91 Children in the United States Has Autism
October 9, 2009
The American Academy of Pediatrics announced earlier this week in their journal Pediatrics that 110 children out of 110,000 have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Put in simple terms, one in 91 or roughly one percent of American children is now on the autism spectrum. The numbers are even more staggering for boys—one in 58. Read the study in Pediatrics and the CDC's statement on autism data.
Who authored this study?
This was a collaborative study. Scientists were from many different government agencies including: The Maternal and Child Health Bureau under the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Center for Health Statistics under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities under CDC. Mass General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School was the only organization involved that was outside the federal government.
How, where and when was this study done?
This study was a random parent telephone survey. The survey was designed to look at the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders within the United States. Parents were asked if a doctor or any other health care provider had ever diagnosed their child or children with “autism, Asperger disorder, pervasive developmental disorder or other autism spectrum disorder.” The sample size was 78,037. These telephone surveys were conducted in 2007 and looked at children aged 3 -17 (birth years 1990-2004).
What were the results?
The one in 91 rates represent an estimated 673,000 children in the United States who have some type of autism diagnosis. This survey reaffirmed earlier studies showing boys are four times more likely than girls to be on the spectrum. Children from the birth years 1999-2001 had 54% more diagnoses than those born 1990-1992. However, children born 1996-1998 had 83% more diagnoses compared to the birth years 1990-1992.
Autism Prevalence Rates in the United States
The authors conceded this study's ASD rates are higher than the CDC's 2007 rates (which was approximately one in 150 children and one in 94 boys). The researchers speculated the increase may be due to the earlier CDC studies using different methodologies as well as increased awareness of ASD.
Interestingly, the study revealed that nearly 40% of children who had once held a diagnosis of ASD did not currently have the condition. According to this study, the reasons for this phenomenon may be due to misdiagnosis, suspicion of a diagnosis at an early age that was later ruled out, an intentional misdiagnosis so that the child could receive early start services, and changing diagnosis criteria.
The authors reported that due to the increasing prevalence of ASD, constant monitoring of the condition is needed. The researchers also felt that ASD should be considered an urgent public health priority. The study called for further understanding of those at risk for ASD as well as more understanding of ASD symptoms, severity, and health care impacts that may lead to more effective treatments and interventions.
Next month the CDC is scheduled to release another set of ASD prevalence numbers using data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. ADDM is responsible for providing the CDC with ASD rates in the past (the one-in-150 rate in 2007) and will use the same methodologies in the upcoming study. All eyes will be on the ADDM data to see if their new numbers will match the numbers in this study.
Questions to consider
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Most doctors, researchers and the federal government consider autism a “genetic” disorder. How does the incidence rate of a “genetic” disorder increase from one in 10,000 just 20 years ago to the current rate of one in 91? Isn’t that a strong indicator that environmental factors are at play?
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For the children who lost their diagnosis in this survey, could it be possible that it wasn’t just misdiagnosis or over-diagnosis? Is it possible that some percentage of these children actually recovered from autism? And if that is the case, from what other genetic disorders have children recovered?
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According to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, autism is now considered an “urgent public health priority.” What exactly does that term mean and how will it effect CDC priorities?
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Earlier this year, a study conducted by the MIND Institute at UC Davis showed the increased autism rate in children from California was not due to better diagnosing. The MIND Institute found the autism increase to be genuine and pointed to environmental culprits. After President Obama viewed these alarming new autism incidence rates last week, it was reported that he wants to increase spending on autism research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 16% — a bigger increase than in any other area of NIH research. Given the MIND Institute findings, shouldn’t the increased NIH funds be allocated to environmental research?
- Why is there such a sharp increase in autism rates for children born from 1996-2001? According to the CDC’s National Immunization Survey only 8% of children born in 1992 received a birth dose of the Hep-B vaccine but by 1996 that rate had risen to 82%. Could there be a correlation of birth dose of the Hep-B vaccine and autism?
Contact the CDC if you would like to share your opinion on this study and how the CDC should respond to this "urgent public health priority."
