The epidemiology of autism: a review

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIC FOMBONNE

Background. There is some uncertainty about the rate and correlates of autism.Method. Twenty-three epidemiological surveys of autism published in the English language between 1966 and 1998 were reviewed.Results. Over 4 million subjects were surveyed; 1533 subjects with autism were identified. The methodological characteristics of each study are summarized, including case definition, case-finding procedures, participation rates and precision achieved. Across surveys, the median prevalence estimate was 5·2/10000. Half the surveys had 95% confidence intervals consistent with population estimates of 5·4–5·5/10000. Prevalence rates significantly increased with publication year, reflecting changes in case definition and improved recognition; the median rate was 7·2/10000 for 11 surveys conducted since 1989. The average male/female ratio was 3·8[ratio ]1, varying according to the absence or presence of mental retardation. Intellectual functioning within the normal range was reported in about 20% of subjects. On average, medical conditions of potential causal significance were found in 6% of subjects with autism, with tuberous sclerosis having a consistently strong association with autism. Social class and immigrant status did not appear to be associated with autism. There was no evidence for a secular increase in the incidence of autism. In eight surveys, rates for other forms of pervasive developmental disorders were two to three times higher than the rate for autism.Conclusion. Based on recent surveys, a minimum estimate of 18·7/10000 for all forms of pervasive developmental disorders was derived, which outlines the needs in special services for a large group of children.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Fombonne ◽  
Sara Quirke ◽  
Arlene Hagen

The aims of this article are to provide an up-to-date review of the methodological features and substantive results of published epidemiological surveys of the prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). This article updates previous reviews (1, 2) with the inclusion of new studies made available since then. The specific questions addressed inthis article are: a) how are cases of PDD defined and identified in epidemiological surveys?; b) what are the best estimates for the prevalence of autism and related pervasive developmental disorders considering the methodological implications of the surveys, and c) what interpretation can be given to time trends observed in prevalence rates of PDDs given the hypothesized secular increase in PDDs?


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Fombonne ◽  
Sara Quirke ◽  
Arlene Hagen

The aims of this article are to provide an up-to-date review of the methodological features and substantive results of published epidemiological surveys of the prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). This article updates previous reviews (1, 2) with the inclusion of new studies made available since then. The specific questions addressed inthis article are: a) how are cases of PDD defined and identified in epidemiological surveys?; b) what are the best estimates for the prevalence of autism and related pervasive developmental disorders considering the methodological implications of the surveys, and c) what interpretation can be given to time trends observed in prevalence rates of PDDs given the hypothesized secular increase in PDDs?


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Wong

There has been increasing awareness that there are behavioral phenotypes in tuberous sclerosis complex with neuropsychiatric symptom complex such as autistic disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the neurobiologic basis of autistic disorder in tuberous sclerosis complex is still unknown. We studied two cohorts of children followed up since 1986 until 2003, one cohort with tuberous sclerosis complex and another cohort with autistic disorder, to determine the incidence of autistic disorder in tuberous sclerosis complex and the incidence of tuberous sclerosis complex in autistic disorder respectively. We established a Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Registry in 1985 at the University of Hong Kong. In 2004, 44 index cases (the male to female ratio was 0.75:1) were registered. Three had a positive family history of tuberous sclerosis complex. Thus, the total number of tuberous sclerosis complex cases was 47. We adopted the diagnostic criteria of tuberous sclerosis complex for case ascertainment. The period prevalence rate of tuberous sclerosis complex for children and adolescents aged < 20 years is 3.5 per 10,000 (on Hong Kong island, excluding the eastern region with 125,100 aged < 20 years in 2003). Of 44 cases with tuberous sclerosis complex, 7 had autistic disorder. Thus, the incidence of autistic disorder in tuberous sclerosis complex is 16%. During the 17-year period (1986—2003), we collected a database of 753 children (668 boys and 84 girls; male to female ratio 8:1) with autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorders. For all children with autistic disorder or pervasive developmental disorders, we routinely examined for any features of tuberous sclerosis complex by looking for neurocutaneous markers such as depigmented spots, which appear in 50% of children with tuberous sclerosis complex by the age of 2 years. For those with infantile spasm or epilepsy, the clinical features of tuberous sclerosis complex were monitored regularly during follow-up. Of these, seven had tuberous sclerosis complex. Thus, the incidence of tuberous sclerosis complex in autistic disorder is 0.9%. All of these children are mentally retarded, with moderate to severe grades in an intellectual assessment conducted by a clinical psychologist. Future studies should be directed toward looking at the various behavioral phenotypes in tuberous sclerosis complex and defining these with standardized criteria to look for any real association with the underlying genetic mutation of TSC1 or TSC2 gene or even the site of tubers in the brain. ( J Child Neurol 2006;21:199—204; DOI 10.2310/7010.2006.00046).


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 561
Author(s):  
Chidambaranathan S. ◽  
Madhubalan T. ◽  
Harivasudevan S.

Background: Febrile seizures are the most common and benign convulsive disorder in childhood and a frequent cause of emergency hospital admission  Febrile Seizures (FS) are age-dependent and are rare before the age of 9 months and after 5 years of age, the peak age of onset is 14-18months. To assess the clinical profile in children with febrile seizures and compare these values with febrile children without seizures.Methods: The study included children admitted with bronchiolitis in between during the period of August 2018 to March 2019 at Department of Pediatrics, Raja Muthiah Medical College and Hospital. It is a case-control study. The study group includes 50 cases (febrile seizures) and 50 controls (fever without seizures) aged 6months to 5 years (6-60 months) attending the pediatric out-patient department.Results: 54% of the cases were male (27) and 46% of the cases were female (23). Male: female ratio was 1.17:1. Mean temperature in cases and controls were 101.61±1.31 °F and 101.17±0.86 °F respectively. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p-value >0.05). duration of seizure was <5 minutes in 80% of cases (40/50) and >5mins in 20% of the cases (10/50).Conclusions: Simple febrile seizures may slightly increase the risk of developing epilepsy, but have no adverse effects on behaviour, scholastic performance, or neurocognition. The risk of developing epilepsy is increased further in children with a history of complex febrile seizures. A strong association exists between febrile status epilepticus or febrile seizures characterized by focal symptoms and later development of temporal lobe epilepsy.


2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Guillem ◽  
Christine Cans ◽  
Vincent Guinchat ◽  
Marc Ratel ◽  
Pierre-Simon Jouk

Crisis ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamás Zonda

The author examined completed suicides occurring over a period of 25 years in a county of Hungary with a traditionally low (relatively speaking) suicide rate of 25.8. The rates are clearly higher in villages than in the towns. The male/female ratio was close to 4:1, among elderly though only 1.5:1. The high risk groups are the elderly, divorced, and widowed. Violent methods are chosen in 66.4% of the cases. The rates are particularly high in the period April-July. Prior communication of suicidal intention was revealed in 16.3% of all cases. Previous attempts had been undertaken by 17%, which in turn means that 83% of suicides were first attempts. In our material 10% the victims left suicide notes. Psychiatric disorders were present in 60.1% of the cases, and severe, multiple somatic illnesses (including malignomas) were present in 8.8%. The majority of the data resemble those found in the literature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Butrón-Téllez Girón

El Síndrome de Asperger es una enfermedad del neurodesarrollo caracterizado por deficiencias en la interacción social y la comunicación,sin retraso en el desarrollo cognitivo y del lenguaje, considerado dentro de los Trastornos Generalizados del Desarrollo y de las Condiciones del Espectro Autista. Debido a las características de este síndrome estos pacientes requieren atención y técnicas conductuales específicas, parapoder realizar el tratamiento dental. El objetivo de este reporte es dar a conocer los cuidados y el manejo de conducta para el tratamiento dental en pacientes con Síndrome de Asperger. Palabras clave: Síndrome de Asperger, desensibilización sistemática, cuidado dental, salud bucal, prevención primaria, comportamiento.  AbstractAsperger syndrome is a disease of the neurodevelopmental characterized by deficiencies in social interaction and communication, without delay in cognitive development and language, and is considered within pervasive developmental disorders and the autism spectrumconditions. Due to the characteristics these patients require care and specific behavioral techniques, to perform dental treatment. The objective of this report is to present the care and behaviour management for dental treatment in patients with Asperger syndrome. Key words: Asperger syndrome, systematic desensitization, dental care, oral health, primary prevention, behaviour.


2018 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Thanh Trung Nguyen ◽  
Duc Nhan Le ◽  
Van Xung Nguyen ◽  
Hieu Trung Doan

Objective: To study the clinical, endoscopy and pathogical characteristics of colorectal cancer at Da Nang Hospital. Methods: A retrospectively descriptive study, performed from 01/01/2016 to 31/12/2017 at Da Nang Hospital. Results: During two years, there were 205 cases of colorectal cancer patients hospitalized to Da Nang Hospital. Male: 59.51%, female: 40.49%, mean age: 65.8 ± 16.07. Male is higher than female, male/ female ratio is 1.4/1. The period from the first symptoms to admission < 3months predominated (83.8%). The predominant symptoms: Abdominal pain (85.85%), bloody stool (63.41%), defecation (62.44%), anemia (34.63%), weight loss (25.85%), fatigue (17.56%), abdominal distention (12.19%), nausea and vomiting (5.36%). Location of Lesions: Rectum (43.42%), sigmoid colon (20%), right colon (10.73%),cecum (10.73%), transverse colon (7.80%), left-colon (7.32%). Type of lesion on endoscopy: Exophytic (63.41%), ulceration-Exophytic (21.95%), ulceration (7.32%), polyp chemotherapy (7.32). Tumor size: ≥ 3/4 perimeter (39%), occupying the whole circumference (37.0%), occupying ≥ 1/2 perimeter (15.6%), accounting for 1/4 Perimeter (8.4%). The colon completely narrowed rate: 70.73%., incompletely was 29.27%. Histopathological classification: adenocarcinoma (85.85%), Mucinous adenocarcinoma: (9.27%) and non-differentiated epithelial carcinoma was 4.88%. Conclusion: Colorectal cancer was quite popular and was usually detected at advanced stages.Therefore, screening for subjects with risk factors for early detection and treatment is recommended. Key words: Colorectal cancer, endoscopy, pathogical characteristics...


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