Abstract
The objective of this study was to establish rates of diagnosed autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a circumscribed geographical region. The total population born in 1977–1994, living in Göteborg Sweden in 2001, was screened for ASD in registers of the Child Neuropsychiatry Clinic. The minimum registered rate of autistic disorder was 20.5 in 10,000. Other ASDs were 32.9 in 10,000, including 9.2 in 10,000 with Asperger syndrome. Males predominated. In the youngest group (7–12 years), 1.23% had a registered diagnosis of ASD. There was an increase in the rate of diagnosed registered ASD over time; the cause was not determined. The increase tended to level off in the younger age cohort, perhaps due to Asperger syndrome cases missed in screening.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
APA. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., DSM III). Washington, DC: APA
APA (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3 Edition) APA, Washington, DC
APA (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4 Edition) APA, Washington, DC
Asperger H., (1944). Die Autistischen Psychopathen im Kindesalter Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkranheiten 117:76–136
Cederlund M., Gillberg C., (2004) One hundred boys with Asperger syndrome. A clinical study of background and associated factors Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 46:652–660
Croen L. A., Grether J. K., Hoogstrate J., Selvin S., (2002). The changing prevalence of autism in California Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 32:207–215
Fombonne E., (2003). Epidemiological surveys of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders: an update Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 33:365–382
Frith U., (2004). Emanuel Miller lecture: Confusions and controversies about Asperger syndrome Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45:672–686
Gillberg C., (1983). Perceptual, motor and attentional deficits in Swedish primary school children. Some child psychiatric aspects Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 24:377–403
Gillberg C., (1984). Infantile autism and other childhood psychoses in a Swedish urban region. Epidemiological aspects Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 25:35–43
Gillberg I. C., Gillberg C., (1989). Asperger syndrome – some epidemiological considerations: A research note Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 30:631–638
Gillberg C., Steffenburg S., Schaumann H., (1991). Is autism more common now than 10 years ago?British Journal of Psychiatry 158:403–409
Gillberg C., Wing L., (1999). Autism: Not an extremely rare disorder Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 99:399–406
Gillberg C., Gillberg I. C., Råstam M., Wentz N., (2001). The Asperger syndrome diagnostic interview (ASDI): A preliminary study of a new structured clinical interview Autism 5:57–66
Howlin P., Asgharian A., (1999). The diagnosis of autism and Asperger syndrome: Findings from a survey of 770 families Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 41:834–839
Kanner L., (1943) Autistic disturbances of affective contact Nervous Child 2:217–250
Krug D. A., Arick J., Almond P., (1980). Behavior checklist for identifying severely handicapped individuals with high levels of autistic behavior Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 21:221–229
Le Couteur A., Rutter M., Lord C., Rios P., Robertson S., Holdgrafer M., McLennan., (1989). Autism diagnostic interview: a standardized investigator-based instrument Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 19:363–387
Leekam S., Libby S., Wing L., Gould J., Gillberg C., (2000) Comparison of ICD-10 and Gillberg´s criteria for Asperger syndrome Autism 4:11–28
Leekam S. R., Libby S. J., Wing L., Gould J., Taylor C., (2002). The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders: Algorithms for ICD-10 childhood autism and Wing and Gould autisitic spectrum disorder Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 43:327–342
Lord C., Rutter M., (1994). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. In Rutter M., Taylor E., Hersov L., (Eds.), Child and adolescent psychiatry. Modern approaches (3 Ed). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 569–593
Lotter V., (1966). Epidemiology of autistic conditions in young children Social Psychiatry 1:124–137
Miller J. N., Ozonoff S., (1997). Did Asperger’s cases have Asperger disorder? A research note Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38:247–251
Nordin V., Nydén A., Gillberg C., (1998). The Swedish version of the childhood autism rating scale in a clinical setting Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 28:69–75
Schopler E., Reichler R. J., DeVellis R. F., Daly K., (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 10:91–103
Steffenburg S., Gillberg C., (1986). Autism and autistic-like conditions in Swedish rural and urban areas: A population study British Journal of Psychiatry 149:81–87
Steffenburg S., Gillberg C., Hellgren L., Andersson L., Gillberg I. C., Jakobsson G., Bohman M., (1989). A twin study of autism in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 30:405–416
Taylor B., Miller E., Farrington C. P., Petropoulos M. C., Favot-Mayaud I., Li J., Waight P. A., (1999). Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: No epidemiological evidence for a causal association Lancet 353:2026–2029
Webb E. V., Lobo S., Hervas A., Scourfield J., Fraser W. I., (1997). The changing prevalence of autistic disorder in a Welsh health district Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 39:150–152
Wing L., (1981). Asperger’s syndrome: A clinical account Psychological Medicine 11:115–130
Wing L., (1996). The autism spectrum. Constable, London
Wing L., Potter D., (2002) The epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders: Is the prevalence rising?Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability Research Review 8:151–161
Yeargin-Allsopp M., Rice C., Karapurkar T., Doernberg N., Boyle C., Murphy C., (2003). Prevalence of autism in a US metropolitan area JAMA, 289:49–55
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gillberg, C., Cederlund, M., Lamberg, K. et al. Brief Report: “The Autism Epidemic”. The Registered Prevalence of Autism in a Swedish Urban Area. J Autism Dev Disord 36, 429–435 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0081-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0081-6