The Rising Prevalence of Autism: A Prospective Longitudinal Study in the Faroe Islands

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 42; no. 9; pp. 1959 - 1966
• Main Authors: Kočovská, Eva, Biskupstø, Rannvá, Carina Gillberg, I., Ellefsen, Asa, Kampmann, Hanna, Stórá, Tormóður, Billstedt, Eva, Gillberg, Christopher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.09.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adults; Algorithms; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic Disorder - diagnosis; Autistic Disorder - epidemiology; Autistic spectrum disorders; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child clinical studies; Childhood; Children; Clinical Diagnosis; Communication Disorders; Denmark; Denmark - epidemiology; Developmental disorders; Educational Objectives; Female; Females; Followup Studies; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Humans; Incidence; Infantile autism; Intelligence; Interpersonal Relationship; Interviews; Islands; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Males; Medical sciences; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neuropsychological Tests; Neurosciences; Original Paper; Pediatrics; Physicians; Population studies; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Prospective Studies; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psykiatri; Public Health; Semi Structured Interviews; Variability; Young Adult; Young Adults; Denmark; Atlantic Ocean Islands; Faroe Islands; Autism; Genetic isolate; Prevalence; Young adults; Asperger’s syndrome; Children; Females; Human; Developmental disorder; Epidemiology; Asperger syndrome; Asperger's syndrome; Follow up study; Young adult; Female; Genetics; Child; Public health
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-012-1444-9

We have followed up a 2002 population study of autism prevalence in 15–24-year olds in the Faroe Islands. The rate of ASD grew significantly from 0.56% in 2002 to 0.94% in 2009. Although these results are within the range of typical findings from other studies, there were some interesting details. There were—in addition to 43 originally diagnosed cases in 2002—24 newly discovered cases in 2009 and nearly half of them were females. It is possible that unfamiliarity with the clinical presentation of autism in females have played a significant role in this context. There was diagnostic stability for the overall category of ASD over time in the group diagnosed in childhood (7—16) years, but considerable variability as regards diagnostic sub-groupings.