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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1471969

Prevalence and trends of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities among children and adolescents in the United States from 2019 to 2021

Provisionally accepted
Wen-Rong Ge Wen-Rong Ge 1Cancan Zhang Cancan Zhang 2Guang Yang Guang Yang 3*Bo Zhang Bo Zhang 2
  • 1 Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • 3 People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a comprehensive health survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in the U.S., providing valuable insights into the health status of the population. This study focuses on the NHIS child survey between 2019 and 2021, exploring developmental disabilities in U.S. children, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit disorder (ADHD/ADD), intellectual disability (ID), other developmental delay (other DD), and learning disability (LD).Objective: Leveraging NHIS data, our primary objective is to investigate the latest trends and disparities in the prevalence of developmental disabilities among various racial-ethnic groups.Methods: Employing a repeated cross-sectional design, we analyzed NHIS data from 2019 to 2021, focusing on children aged 3-17. The survey employed a meticulous stratified multi-stage sampling design. We utilized SAS version 9.4 for data analysis, calculating race-ethnicity-specific prevalence rates and employing weighted linear regression and the Rao-Scott chi-square test for trend analysis.Results: Among 19,490 children, prevalence rates varied: ASD (3.11%), ADHD/ADD (9.50%), ID (1.85%), other DD (5.66%), and LD (7.49%). Non-Hispanic black children exhibited higher rates of ID and LD, while non-Hispanic white children had the highest ADHD/ADD prevalence. Disparities persisted across sociodemographic subgroups, with variations in prevalence rates.Our study reveals an increase in ASD prevalence and persistent disparities among racial-ethnic groups.Non-Hispanic black children face elevated risks of ID and LD, while non-Hispanic white children exhibit higher rates of ADHD/ADD.

    Keywords: Neurodevelopmental disorders, Learning Disability, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data, Racial Disparities, prevalence of autism spectrum disorder

    Received: 28 Jul 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ge, Zhang, Yang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Guang Yang, People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, Beijing Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.