Advertisement

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

, Volume 45, Issue 10, pp 3255–3261 | Cite as

Low but Increasing Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a French Area from Register-Based Data

  • Marit Maria Elisabeth van BakelEmail author
  • Malika Delobel-Ayoub
  • Christine Cans
  • Brigitte Assouline
  • Pierre-Simon Jouk
  • Jean-Philippe Raynaud
  • Catherine Arnaud
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Register-based prevalence rates of childhood autism (CA), Asperger’s syndrome (AS) and other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were calculated among children aged 7 years old of the 1997–2003 birth cohorts, living in four counties in France. The proportion of children presenting comorbidities was reported. 1123 children with ASD were recorded (M/F ratio: 4.1), representing an overall prevalence rate of 36.5/10,000 children (95 % CI 34.4–38.7): 8.8/10,000 for CA (95 % CI 7.8–9.9), 1.7/10,000 for AS (95 % CI 1.3–2.3) and 25.9/10,000 for other ASD (95 % CI 24.2–27.8). ASD prevalence significantly increased (p < 0.0001) during the period under study. The proportion of children with an intellectual disability was 47.3 %, all other comorbidities were present in less than 5 % of the cases.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorder Population register Prevalence Comorbidities 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in relation to this study.

Ethical Standards

The study was carried out according to the French regulations of individual privacy. Parents who agreed to participate signed an informed consent form prior to inclusion of their child the study. The National Commission on Informatics and Liberties (CNIL) authorized the treatment and digitalization of the nominative data.

References

  1. Amiet, C., Gourfinkel-An, I., Bouzamondo, A., Tordjman, S., Baulac, M., Lechat, P., et al. (2008). Epilepsy in autism is associated with intellectual disability and gender: Evidence from a meta-analysis. Biological Psychiatry, 64, 577–582.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Atladottir, H. O., Gyllenberg, D., Langridge, A., Sandin, S., Hansen, S. N., Leonard, H., et al. (2015). The increasing prevalence of reported diagnoses of childhood psychiatric disorders: A descriptive multinational comparison. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 173–183.Google Scholar
  3. Betancur, C. (2011). Etiological heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorders: More than 100 genetic and genomic disorders and still counting. Brain Research, 1380, 42–77.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. Bolton, P. F., Carcani-Rathwell, I., Hutton, J., Goode, S., Howlin, P., & Rutter, M. (2011). Epilepsy in autism: Features and correlates. British Journal of Psychiatry, 198, 289–294.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Botbol, M., & Portelli, C. (2011). Correspondance et transcodage entre CFTMEA R 2010 et CIM 10. Annales Medico-Psychologiques, 169, 265–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Bursztejn, C., Raynaud, J.-P., & Misés, R. (2011). Autisme, psychose précoce, troubles envahissants du développement. Annales Medico-Psychologiques, 169, 256–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Cans, C., Dolk, H., Platt, M. J., Colver, A., Prasauskiene, A., & Krageloh-Mann, I. (2007). Recommendations from the SCPE collaborative group for defining and classifying cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 49(109), 35–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Coo, H., Ouellette-Kuntz, H., Lloyd, J. E., Kasmara, L., Holden, J. J., & Lewis, M. E. (2008). Trends in autism prevalence: Diagnostic substitution revisited. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1036–1046.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Croen, L. A., Grether, J. K., & Selvin, S. (2002). Descriptive epidemiology of autism in a California population: Who is at risk? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 217–224.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Delobel, M., Van Bakel, M. E., Klapouszczak, D., Vignes, C., Maffre, T., Raynaud, J., et al. (2012). Prévalence de l’autisme et autres troubles envahissants du développement : données des registres français de population. Générations 1995–2002. Neuropsychiatrie de l’Enfance et de l’Adolescence, 61, 23–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Elsabbagh, M., Divan, G., Koh, Y. J., Kim, Y. S., Kauchali, S., Marcin, C., et al. (2012). Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism Research, 5, 160–179.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Fombonne, E. (2001). What is the prevalence of Asperger disorder? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 363–364.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Fombonne, E. (2009). Epidemiology of pervasive developmental disorders. Pediatric Research, 65, 591–598.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Fombonne, E., Du Mazaubrun, C., Cans, C., & Grandjean, H. (1997). Autism and associated medical disorders in a French epidemiological survey. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1561–1569.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Guillem, P., Cans, C., Guinchat, V., Ratel, M., & Jouk, P. S. (2006). Trends, perinatal characteristics, and medical conditions in pervasive developmental disorders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 48, 896–900.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Guillem, P., Lavergne, C., & Cans, C. (2000). How to calculate the completeness of ascertainment of a morbidity register? Example of the Isere childhood handicap register in Grenoble, France. Revue d’Epidemiologie et de Sante Publique, 48, 41–51.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Harris, S. W., Hessl, D., Goodlin-Jones, B., Ferranti, J., Bacalman, S., Barbato, I., et al. (2008). Autism profiles of males with fragile X syndrome. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 113, 427–438.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  18. 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.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Hultman, C. M., Sandin, S., Levine, S. Z., Lichtenstein, P., & Reichenberg, A. (2011). Advancing paternal age and risk of autism: New evidence from a population-based study and a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Molecular Psychiatry, 16, 1203–1212.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Kim, Y. S., Leventhal, B. L., Koh, Y. J., Fombonne, E., Laska, E., Lim, E. C., et al. (2011). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 904–912.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  21. King, M., & Bearman, P. (2009). Diagnostic change and the increased prevalence of autism. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38, 1224–1234.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Kumar, R. A., & Christian, S. L. (2009). Genetics of autism spectrum disorders. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 9, 188–197.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. Nassar, N., Dixon, G., Bourke, J., Bower, C., Glasson, E., de Klerk, N., et al. (2009). Autism spectrum disorders in young children: Effect of changes in diagnostic practices. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38, 1245–1254.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. Oeseburg, B., Groothoff, J. W., Dijkstra, G. J., Reijneveld, S. A., & Jansen, D. E. (2010). Pervasive developmental disorder behavior in adolescents with intellectual disability and co-occurring somatic chronic diseases. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31, 496–501.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Pu, D., Shen, Y., & Wu, J. (2013). Association between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and the risk of autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis. Autism Research, 6, 384–392.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Reichow, B., Barton, E. E., Boyd, B. A., & Hume, K. (2012). Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews, 10, CD009260.Google Scholar
  27. Saemundsen, E., Magnusson, P., Georgsdottir, I., Egilsson, E., Rafnsson, V. (2013). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in an Icelandic birth cohort. BMJ Open, 3(6), e002748.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. Saint-Georges, C., Guinchat, V., Chamak, B., Apicella, F., Muratori, F., & Cohen, D. (2013). Signes précoces d’autisme : d’où vient-on ? Où va-t-on ? [Early signs of autism: Where have we been? Where are we going?]. Neuropsychiatrie Enfance et de l’Adolescence, 61, 400–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Sandin, S., Hultman, C. M., Kolevzon, A., Gross, R., MacCabe, J. H., & Reichenberg, A. (2012). Advancing maternal age is associated with increasing risk for autism: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 477–486.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  30. Shattuck, P. T. (2006). The contribution of diagnostic substitution to the growing administrative prevalence of autism in US special education. Pediatrics, 117, 1028–1037.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  31. WHO. (1993). International classification of diseases (10th revision ed.). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
  32. Wing, L., & Gould, J. (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 11–29.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  33. Wing, L., & Potter, D. (2002). The epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders: Is the prevalence rising? Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 8, 151–161.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Marit Maria Elisabeth van Bakel
    • 1
    Email author
  • Malika Delobel-Ayoub
    • 2
    • 3
  • Christine Cans
    • 4
  • Brigitte Assouline
    • 5
  • Pierre-Simon Jouk
    • 6
    • 7
  • Jean-Philippe Raynaud
    • 2
    • 3
    • 8
  • Catherine Arnaud
    • 2
    • 3
    • 9
  1. 1.Register for Severely Disabled Children and Perinatal Observatory (RHEOP)GrenobleFrance
  2. 2.INSERM U.1027ToulouseFrance
  3. 3.Paul-Sabatier UniversityToulouseFrance
  4. 4.Themas Team, UMR 5525Joseph Fourier UniversityGrenobleFrance
  5. 5.Autism Resource Centre of the Rhone-Alpes RegionSt-EgreveFrance
  6. 6.Department of Genetics and ProcreationUniversity Hospital GrenobleGrenobleFrance
  7. 7.DYCTIM Team, UMR 5525 TIMC-IMAGJoseph Fourier University HospitalGrenobleFrance
  8. 8.Department of Child PsychiatryLa Grave University HospitalToulouseFrance
  9. 9.Department of Clinical EpidemiologyPurpan University HospitalToulouseFrance

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options