Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in 7–9-Year-Old Children in Denmark, Finland, France and Iceland: A Population-Based Registries Approach Within the ASDEU Project

• Published in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Main Authors: Delobel-Ayoub, M., Saemundsen, E., Gissler, M., Ego, A., Moilanen, I., Ebeling, H., Rafnsson, V., Klapouszczak, D., Thorsteinsson, E., Arnaldsdóttir, K., Roge, B., Arnaud, C., Schendel, D.
• Other Authors: Equipe SPHERE (CERPOP), Centre d'Epidémiologie et de Recherche en santé des POPulations (CERPOP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse), University of Iceland Reykjavik, National Institute for Health and Welfare Helsinki, University of Turku, Karolinska Institute, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire CHU Grenoble (CHUGA), University of Oulu, Oulu University Hospital Oulu, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus University Aarhus, Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches en Psychopathologie et Psychologie de la Santé (CERPPS), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut (TMBI), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: Autism; Epidemiology; Health information systems; Prevalence; Registries; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ut3-toulouseinp.hal.science/hal-04532321; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04328-y

International audience We estimated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence in 7-9 year-old children in 2015 using data from three nationwide health registry systems (Denmark, Finland, Iceland) and two French population-based regional registries. Prevalence ranged from 0.48% in South-East France to 3.13% in Iceland (South-West France: 0.73%, Finland: 0.77%, Denmark: 1.26%). Male/female ratios ranged from 3.3 in Finland to 5.4 in South-West France. Between 12% (Denmark) and 39% (South-West France) of cases were diagnosed with intellectual disability. The variations in population-based ASD prevalence across four European countries with universal health care practices likely reflect variation in detection, referral and diagnosis practices and autism awareness across these areas. Using established population-based data systems is an efficient approach to monitor ASD prevalence trends over time.