foodconsumer.org: Autism cases spike dramatically

Autism cases spike dramatically
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admin on 12/21/2009 22:54:00
 
By Sheilah Downey
Increases in the prevalence of autism has spiked 57 percent in recent years with
estimates stating that 1 in 110 children has some form of Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In light of the rise in cases of autism, the CDC is currently enrolling for the
Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) in order to identify at an early age
the factors that may be putting children at risk for the disorder.  During the
course of the ADDM evaluation, the report stated there were concerns about the
development of autism before the age of 36 months, while the average age of
diagnosis was 54 months.
In the study, autism rates varied from 1 in 80 children to 1 in 240 children,
with the average being 1 in 110, a prevalence of about one percent, stated the
CDC data from their Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network
(ADDM) report.
Findings from the 2006 report were based on health and education records from
multiple communities throughout the United States and included 8 percent of the
U.S. population of eight year olds.
The CDC study also found that all communities participating in the study
reported an increase in autism prevalence, ranging from 27 to 95 percent
increases and averaging the 57 percent increase.
While previous studies have suggested that increases in reports of the disorder
are due to better and earlier detection, the CDC report says that "a true
increase in risk cannot be ruled out."
Increases in autism were found to occur 4 to 5 times more often in boys than in
girls, stated the report. Increases were found among boys in nine communities
and in four communities among girls. The average increase was 60 percent for
boys and 48 percent for girls.
The report also found that children with autism also showed signs of
intellectual disabilities, averaging at 44 percent in 2004 and 41 percent in
2006.