The Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Toddlers: A Population Study of 2-Year-Old Swedish Children

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is more common than previously believed. ASD is increasingly diagnosed at very young ages. We report estimated ASD prevalence rates from a population study of 2-year-old children conducted in 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Screening for ASD had been introduced at all chil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2012-07, Vol.42 (7), p.1491-1497
Main Authors: Nygren, Gudrun, Cederlund, Mats, Sandberg, Eva, Gillstedt, Fredrik, Arvidsson, Thomas, Carina Gillberg, I., Westman Andersson, Gunilla, Gillberg, Christopher
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autistic children
Autistic spectrum disorders
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Child and School Psychology
Child clinical studies
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - epidemiology
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology
Child Health
Child, Preschool
Children
Clinical Diagnosis
Cross-Sectional Studies
Developmental disorders
Disability Identification
Early Diagnosis
Female
Foreign Countries
Gothenburg
Health Surveys
Humans
Incidence
Infantile autism
Male
Mass Screening - statistics & numerical data
Medical sciences
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Pediatrics
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Population studies
Prevalence
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psykiatri
Public Health
Referral and Consultation - statistics & numerical data
Screening
Screening Tests
Sweden
Toddlers
Urban Population - statistics & numerical data
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Description
Summary:Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is more common than previously believed. ASD is increasingly diagnosed at very young ages. We report estimated ASD prevalence rates from a population study of 2-year-old children conducted in 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Screening for ASD had been introduced at all child health centers at child age 21/2 years. All children with suspected ASD were referred for evaluation to one center, serving the whole city of Gothenburg. The prevalence for all 2-year-olds referred in 2010 and diagnosed with ASD was 0.80%. Corresponding rates for 2-year-olds referred to the center in 2000 and 2005 (when no population screening occurred) were 0.18 and 0.04%. Results suggest that early screening contributes to a large increase in diagnosed ASD cases.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1007/s10803-011-1391-x