United States: Large increases in the numbers of young adults and girls being diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum have resulted in a near tripling of US autism cases in over a decade, say scientists.
Increase Notable Among Women and Girls
A study published in the Journal of JAMA Network Open Oct 30 reported that, based on data from over 12 million patients enrolled in major healthcare systems in the US, the rate of autism diagnosis increased by 175 percent between 2011 and 2022, as reported by HealthDay.
The increase in diagnosis was steeper among individuals within 26 to 34 years – a common age group that saw its diagnoses of autism rise 450% or 5.6 times between 2011 and 2022, the report revealed.
Factors Behind the Rising Numbers
According to a team headed by Luke Grosvenor of Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research in Pleasanton, California, the “gender gap” in autism diagnoses is narrowing, despite the fact that boys are still four times more likely than girls to receive a diagnosis.
New diagnoses among male children in the study period increased to 185%, but among girls, it increased to 305% as per the findings.
Grosvenor’s group said women had a 315% increase in diagnoses between 2011 and 2022 while men had 215%.
Why these trends?
First of all, “increased advocacy and education” may be fostering awareness where such disorders exist and getting more Americans to come forward to get themselves or their children diagnosed with the condition, the Kaiser team suggests.
In addition, there have been recent changes to developmental screening practices for children and changes in “diagnosis definitions, policies, and environmental factors,” which may also contribute to the increase in new cases based on the findings of the study team.

Regarding the increase in the number of girls and women diagnosed, the team of Grosvenors explained that in view of the fact that ‘‘gender behavior norms make girls and women hide autistic traits, or ‘camouflage,’ that male experts believed belonged to the male domain.’’
Perhaps those reasons, alongside social pressure and stigma, are no longer holding girls and women back from getting a proper diagnosis.
Autism Remains Highest in Young Children
Autism rates remain highest among the very young: Using this estimate, it is found that around 30 under twelve in every 1,000 children school-going age of five to eight years have been diagnosed with autism.
That’s slightly higher than 27.6 per 1,000 (or about 1 in 36) children in 2020 using data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Grosvenor‘s group pointed out that, ASDs, the new data could be again an underestimate of actual ASD prevalence among adults.
The bottom line, according to the study authors, Is that the autistics population in the US will increase in the future, which raises the demand for enhanced healthcare services.
“Rates reported here may underestimate the true prevalence of ASD in adults, especially older female adults, as many would not have been screened in childhood and remain undiagnosed,” the researchers noted, as reported by HealthDay.
The bottom line, according to the study authors: “The population of autistic adults in the U.S. will continue to grow, underscoring a need for expanded health care services.”
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