Autism prevalence rises to 1 in 44 kids amid progress in early detection

In 2018, one in 44 children aged 8 years in the United States was identified with autism spectrum disorder, according to an analysis published Thursday in MMWR.

The estimate is higher than data reported in a March 2020 MMWR, which indicated an autism prevalence of one in 54 among 8-year-olds between 2014 and 2016.

The data are from an examination conducted by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which also reported in a second MMWR published Thursday that the overall autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence in children aged 4 years was 17 per 1,000, or one in 59, in 2018.

“The substantial progress in early identification is good news because the earlier that children are identified with autism, the sooner they can be connected to services and support,” Karen Remley, MD, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a press release accompanying the reports. “Accessing these services at younger ages can help children do better in school and have a better quality of life.” 

The ADDM Network is a tracking system composed of 11 surveillance sites in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. All children included in the study were born in 2010 and had a parent or guardian who lived in one of the surveillance sites.

According to the data on 8-year-old children in 2018, ASD was 4.2 times as prevalent among boys as among girls, and prevalence was “similar across racial and ethnic groups.” The authors did note, however, that evidence existed for persistent disparities for various subgroups, most notably among Hispanic children.

The researchers suggested that variabilities in ASD prevalence and community identification among children with different racial, ethnic and geographical characteristics highlight the “importance of research into the causes of that variability and strategies to provide equitable access to developmental evaluations and services.”

“These findings also underscore the need for enhanced infrastructure for diagnostic, treatment, and support services to meet the needs of all children,” the researchers wrote.

Reference:

Shaw KA, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss7010a1.