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A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Received: 23 March 2021     Published: 24 May 2021
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Abstract

Background: There are conflicting reports on the prevalence of ASDs in mainland China (China thereafter) and abroad, and no scholars have compared the prevalence in China and abroad. Further studies are needed to clarify the changes in the prevalence rate and compare the prevalence rates at home and abroad. Objective: In order to compare the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and compare diagnostic tools, diagnostic criteria and other aspects. So far, no scholar has compared the prevalence of autism in China and abroad. Chinese scholars have hardly studied the comprehensive prevalence in China, and the prevalence of autism is conflicting. Methods: I used the Meta-analysis to carry out the research. Firstly, literature was retrieved according to key words and extracted according to screening criteria. Secondly, forest plots and funnel plots were drawn to analyze their significance and heterogeneity. Results: Based on diagnostic criteria the pooled prevalence of ASDs, 73.6 per 10,000 in China (95% CI: 14.22-77.96 per 10,000 I2 = 80.95%), and 98.8 per 10,000 abroad (95% CI: 22.35-127.04 per 10000 per 98.14%, I2 = 98.14%). Subgroup analyses revealed significant difference in the prevalence of ASDs between genders. Moreover, the prevalence of males far exceeds that of females both in China and abroad. Conclusion: There are significant differences in the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and there are also large differences in diagnostic criteria and diagnostic tools. There are significant differences between developing regions and underdeveloped regions, and there are also differences in the prevalence of autism between different genders, but the differences are not significant. In addition, the number of people suffering from autism may gradually increase in the future, and the number of people who understand autism will become wider and wider, the aging phenomenon of autism will gradually increase, and the causes of autism will become more and more complicated.

Published in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11
Page(s) 104-111
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorders, Prevalence, Meta-analysis, Subgroup Analysis, Comparative Study

References
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[3] Elsabbagh, M., Divan, G., Koh, Y. J., Kim, Y. S., Kauchali, S., Marcín, C.,... & Fombonne, E. (2012). Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism research, 5 (3), 160-179.
[4] Shaw, K. A., Maenner, M. J., & Baio, J. (2020). Early identification of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 4 years—Early Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, six sites, United States, 2016. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 69 (3), 1.
[5] Hosozawa, M., Sacker, A., Mandy, W., Midouhas, E., Flouri, E., & Cable, N. (2020). Determinants of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in childhood and adolescence: Evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Autism, 24 (6), 1557-1565.
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[12] Hong, M., Lee, S. M., Park, S., Yoon, S. J., Kim, Y. E., & Oh, I. H. (2020). Prevalence and economic burden of autism spectrum disorder in South Korea using national health insurance data from 2008 to 2015. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 50 (1), 333-339.
[13] Kita, Y., Ashizawa, F., & Inagaki, M. (2020). Prevalence estimates of neurodevelopmental disorders in Japan: A community sample questionnaire study. Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 74 (2), 118-123.
[14] Yang, C., Zhang, L., Zhu, P., Zhu, C., & Guo, Q.. (2016). The prevalence of tic disorders for children in china: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine, 95 (30), e4354.
[15] Loth, E., & Evans, D. W. (2019). Converting tests of fundamental social, cognitive, and affective processes into clinically useful bio-behavioral markers for neurodevelopmental conditions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 10 (5), e1499.
[16] Roestorf, A., Bowler, D. M., Deserno, M. K., Howlin, P., Klinger, L., McConachie, H.,... & Geurts, H. M. (2019). “Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging.” Insights from a series of special interest group meetings held at the International Society for Autism Research 2016–2017. Research in autism spectrum disorders, 63, 3-12.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Guo Huifen, Ma Yan, Wang Aizhu, Xiang Zhu. (2021). A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 10(3), 104-111. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11

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    ACS Style

    Guo Huifen; Ma Yan; Wang Aizhu; Xiang Zhu. A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2021, 10(3), 104-111. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11

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    AMA Style

    Guo Huifen, Ma Yan, Wang Aizhu, Xiang Zhu. A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Psychol Behav Sci. 2021;10(3):104-111. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11,
      author = {Guo Huifen and Ma Yan and Wang Aizhu and Xiang Zhu},
      title = {A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders},
      journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
      volume = {10},
      number = {3},
      pages = {104-111},
      doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20211003.11},
      abstract = {Background: There are conflicting reports on the prevalence of ASDs in mainland China (China thereafter) and abroad, and no scholars have compared the prevalence in China and abroad. Further studies are needed to clarify the changes in the prevalence rate and compare the prevalence rates at home and abroad. Objective: In order to compare the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and compare diagnostic tools, diagnostic criteria and other aspects. So far, no scholar has compared the prevalence of autism in China and abroad. Chinese scholars have hardly studied the comprehensive prevalence in China, and the prevalence of autism is conflicting. Methods: I used the Meta-analysis to carry out the research. Firstly, literature was retrieved according to key words and extracted according to screening criteria. Secondly, forest plots and funnel plots were drawn to analyze their significance and heterogeneity. Results: Based on diagnostic criteria the pooled prevalence of ASDs, 73.6 per 10,000 in China (95% CI: 14.22-77.96 per 10,000 I2 = 80.95%), and 98.8 per 10,000 abroad (95% CI: 22.35-127.04 per 10000 per 98.14%, I2 = 98.14%). Subgroup analyses revealed significant difference in the prevalence of ASDs between genders. Moreover, the prevalence of males far exceeds that of females both in China and abroad. Conclusion: There are significant differences in the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and there are also large differences in diagnostic criteria and diagnostic tools. There are significant differences between developing regions and underdeveloped regions, and there are also differences in the prevalence of autism between different genders, but the differences are not significant. In addition, the number of people suffering from autism may gradually increase in the future, and the number of people who understand autism will become wider and wider, the aging phenomenon of autism will gradually increase, and the causes of autism will become more and more complicated.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A Comprehensive Meta-analysis of the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders
    AU  - Guo Huifen
    AU  - Ma Yan
    AU  - Wang Aizhu
    AU  - Xiang Zhu
    Y1  - 2021/05/24
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11
    T2  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    JF  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    JO  - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
    SP  - 104
    EP  - 111
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7845
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20211003.11
    AB  - Background: There are conflicting reports on the prevalence of ASDs in mainland China (China thereafter) and abroad, and no scholars have compared the prevalence in China and abroad. Further studies are needed to clarify the changes in the prevalence rate and compare the prevalence rates at home and abroad. Objective: In order to compare the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and compare diagnostic tools, diagnostic criteria and other aspects. So far, no scholar has compared the prevalence of autism in China and abroad. Chinese scholars have hardly studied the comprehensive prevalence in China, and the prevalence of autism is conflicting. Methods: I used the Meta-analysis to carry out the research. Firstly, literature was retrieved according to key words and extracted according to screening criteria. Secondly, forest plots and funnel plots were drawn to analyze their significance and heterogeneity. Results: Based on diagnostic criteria the pooled prevalence of ASDs, 73.6 per 10,000 in China (95% CI: 14.22-77.96 per 10,000 I2 = 80.95%), and 98.8 per 10,000 abroad (95% CI: 22.35-127.04 per 10000 per 98.14%, I2 = 98.14%). Subgroup analyses revealed significant difference in the prevalence of ASDs between genders. Moreover, the prevalence of males far exceeds that of females both in China and abroad. Conclusion: There are significant differences in the prevalence of autism at home and abroad, and there are also large differences in diagnostic criteria and diagnostic tools. There are significant differences between developing regions and underdeveloped regions, and there are also differences in the prevalence of autism between different genders, but the differences are not significant. In addition, the number of people suffering from autism may gradually increase in the future, and the number of people who understand autism will become wider and wider, the aging phenomenon of autism will gradually increase, and the causes of autism will become more and more complicated.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China

  • School of Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China

  • School of Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China

  • School of Computer and Information Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China

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