Current Issues in Epidemiogical Studies of Autism
Main Article Content
Abstract
Epidemiological surveys have increased in number and complexity. This paper focuses on a few selected issues that persist in the field of autism epidemiology today. Recent surveys have improved case ascertainment by including a regular school survey component, and they have consistently identified cases which were undiagnosed. However, the logistic of these surveys is complex, and the data analysis of these complex survey designs can lead to serious over- and sometimes under-estimation of overall population prevalence. Other issues discussed concern techniques used to confirm and validate caseness in surveys. Surveys relying on mechanical use of diagnostic algorithms or single questionnaire answers are plagued with measurement error. The impact of the repeated changes in nosographical systems and the recent changes of DSM-5 are discussed. Issues specific to surveys of adults and preschoolers are briefly reviewed. Finally, contributions from international studies and the need for further cross-cultural comparisons are considered.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright to articles published in The Journal Of Psychology: Theory and Practice belongs to the authors, who grant Mackenzie Presbyterian University the not exclusive rights to publish the content.
References
Alshaban, F., Aldosari, M., Al-Shammari, H., El-Hag, S., Ghazal, I., Tolefat, M., … Fombonne, E. (2019). Prevalence and correlates of autism spectrum disorder in Qatar: A national study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13066
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association (Ed.). (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
American Psychiatric Association (Ed.). (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed). Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.
Baio, J., Wiggins, L., Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Daniels, J., Warren, Z., … Dowling, N. F. (2018). Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network,11 Sites, United States, 2014. MMWR Surveill Summ, 67(6), 1–23. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1
Brugha, T. S., Spiers, N., Bankart, J., Cooper, S. A., McManus, S., Scott, F. J., … Tyrer, F. (2016). Epidemiology of autism in adults across age groups and ability levels. British Journal of Psychiatry, 209(6), 498–503. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.115.174649
Brugha, T. S., McManus, S., Smith, J., Scott, F. J., Meltzer, H., Purdon, S., … Bankart, J. (2012). Validating two survey methods for identifyingcases of autism spectrum disorderamong adults in the community. Psychological Medicine, 42(3), 647–656. doi:10.1017/S0033291711001292
Christensen, D. L., Maenner, M. J., Bilder, D., Constantino, J. N., Daniels, J., Durkin, M. S., & Dietz, P. (2019). Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 Years — Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, Seven Sites, United States, 2010, 2012, and 2014. MMWR. Surveillance Summaries, 68(2), 1–19. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6802a1
Fombonne, E. (2003). Epidemiological surveys of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders: an update. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(4), 365–381.
Fombonne, E. (2018). Editorial: The rising prevalence of autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(7), 717–720. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12941
Fombonne, E., Marcin, C., Manero, A. C., Bruno, R., Diaz, C., Villalobos, M., … Nealy, B. (2016). Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Guanajuato, Mexico: The Leon survey. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 46(5), 1669–1685. doi:10.1007/ s10803-016-2696-6
Hoang, V. M., Le, T. V., Chu, T. T. Q., Le, B. N., Duong, M. D., Thanh, N. M., … Bui, T. T. H. (2019). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders and their relation to selectedsocio-demographic factors among children aged 18-30 months in northern Vietnam, 2017. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 13(29). doi:10.1186/ s13033-019-0285-8
Kim, Y. S., Leventhal, B. L., Koh, Y. J., Fombonne, E., Laska, E., Lim, E. C., … Grinker, R. R. (2011) Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Total Population Sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168(9), 904–912. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10101532
Kim, Y. S., Fombonne, E., Koh, Y.-J., Kim, S.-J., Cheon, K.-A., & Leventhal, B. L. (2014). A comparison of DSM-IV pervasive developmental disorder and DSM-5 autism spectrum disorder prevalence in an epidemiologic sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(5), 500–508. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.021
Kogan, M. D., Vladutiu, C. J., Schieve, L. A., Ghandour, R. M., Blumberg, S. J., Zablotsky, B., … Lu, M. C. (2018). The Prevalence of Parent-Reported Autism Spectrum Disorder Among US Children. Pediatrics, 142(6). doi:10.1542/peds.2017-4161
Lord, C., Petkova, E., Hus, V., Gan, W., Lu, F., Martin, D. M., … Risi, S. (2012). A Multisite Study of the Clinical Diagnosis of Different Autism Spectrum Disorders. Archives Of General Psychiatry, 69(3), 306–313. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.148
Maenner, M. J., Rice, C. E., Arneson, C. L., Cunniff, C., Schieve, L. A., Carpenter, L. A., … Durkin, M. S. (2014). Potential impact of DSM-5criteria on autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(3), 292–300. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.3893
Mandell, D., & Lecavalier, L. (2014). Should we believe the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates? Autism, 18(5), 482–484. doi:10.1177/1362361314538131
Meyers, J., Chavez, A., Presmanes Hill, A., Zuckerman, K., & Fombonne, E. (2019). Epidemiological Surveys of Autism Spectrum Disorders. In F. Volkmar (Ed.), Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McFarlane, H., Salem, A., Lawley, G., Presmanes Hill, A., Zuckerman, K., & Fombonne, E. (2019 in press). Epidemiology. In Edited E. Hollander, R. Hagerman, and C. J. Ferretti (Ed.), Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2nd Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Pantelis, P. C., & Kennedy, D. P. (2015). Estimation of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in South Korea, revisited. Autism, 20(5), 517–527. doi:10.1177/1362361315592378
Volkmar, F. R., Klin, A., Siegel, B., Szatmari, P., Lord, C., Campbell, M., … Kline, W. (1994). Field trial for autistic disorder in DSM-IV. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(9), 1361–1367.
Volkmar, F. R., & Shaffer, D. (2000). First M. PDDNOS in DSM-IV. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30(1), 74–75.
World Health Organization (1992). International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th Revision). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Zablotsky, B., Black, L., Maenner, M. J., Schieve, L. A., & Blumberg, S. J. (2015). Estimated Prevalence of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities Following Questionnaire Changes in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey. National Health Statistics Reports, (87), 1–20.