One in 88 Kids

I was a concerned mom before my first child was even born. In 1999, I was pregnant for the first time with a son. I remember watching a tearful mother on the news talk about her twin boys. One son had autism and the other did not. She explained how difficult it was to watch her typical child develop normally. She suffered from the constant reminder of what her other son would have been like, if he had not regressed into autism. As a result, I immediately started interviewing a prospective pediatrician for my unborn child. My concern was how to protect him from autism.

In the last two weeks, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The number has increased an estimated 78% between 2002 & 2008. (1)  The most disturbing fact is that no-one knows what causes autism. On the CDC website, under Genomics and Health, it says: “Scientists believe that both genes and the environment play a role in ASDs”.  (2) 

The current estimated prevalence, based upon data from 2008, is shocking, especially when it’s compared to earlier data. In the 1960s and 1970s, ASDs were believed to be rare, with a prevalence of less than 5 per 10,000 children. (3) (4) The prevalence increased to one in every 150 children in 2002. Then, on March 30, 2012, the CDC announced the prevalence had multiplied again, to one in 88 kids. If you think it can’t get any worse, consider this: one study estimated the ASD prevalence in South Korea as one in 38 children (5).

Of greatest concern is the number of boys that are affected by ASDs. Boys appear to have almost five times the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. In the 14 communities under surveillance by the CDC, one in 54 boys and one in 252 girls were identified as having ASDs.(1)  The population studied included 337,093 children, or 8.4% of the U.S. population of children the same age.

If you are one of the families affected by autism in our community, you may be interested in attending the next Michigan Autism Physicians & Parents Network (MAPN) conference. For one day only, on Saturday, April 21st, a group of Michigan medical professionals will speak about the current biomedical therapies available for people with autism. Tickets are $125 per person. 

For more information, go to: http://www.healthdimensionspharmacy.com/mapn   

1. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008 Surveillance Summaries March 30, 2012 / 61(SS03);1-19 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w#Tab1

2. Genomics and Health:    http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/resources/diseases/autism.htm 

3. Gillberg C, Steffenburg S, Schaumann H. 1991. Is autism more common now than ten years ago? Br. J. Psychiatry 158:403–9 

4. The Epidemeology of Autism Spectrum Disorders http://idea.library.drexel.edu/bitstream/1860/2632/1/2006175339.pdf 

5. . Kim YS, Leventhal BL, Koh YJ, F, et al. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample. Am J Psychiatry 2011;168:904–12.