Rates of autism are apparently rising across the nation.
The CDC released its 2023 Community Report on Autism, which details the rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the nation in children ages 4 and 8 years old.
The data is based on information from children in 11 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.
The report details that children born in 2016 were 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with the condition by 4 years old compared to those born in 2012.
Based on its most recent data, the organization also observed that one in 36 children 8 years of age in the year 2020, or 2.8%, had been diagnosed with the condition.
Of the 11 states analyzed, California had the highest rate of 8-year-old children identified with ASD at 4.5%, or one in 22 children, nearly double that of the state with the lowest rate, Maryland, with a rate of 2.3%, or 1 in 43 children.
CDC officials also observed a new trend in the condition’s rate across ethnicities.
“For the first time, the percentage of 8-year-old Black, Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander (A/PI) children identified with ASD was higher than among 8-year-old White children, which was the opposite of previously observed racial and ethnic differences across the [Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring] Network,” the executive summary suggested.
Officials have yet to determine an exact reason for these rates.
Disparities for autism rates between genders were also noted, with the data indicating that boys were four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.
The CDC notes that autism detection services were disrupted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with fewer children born in 2016 being evaluated than in 2012.
Officials claim that these latest findings indicate a need for increased access to “early identification and support services.”
Walter Zahorodny, an author of the paper, postulated that these increases signal a “major public health crisis,” according to USA Today.
Stephen M. Kanne, a clinical psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian, suggested that these rates can be attributed to a variety of factors, including better screening, but that the overall response should be geared toward better detection.
“The increase in Autism diagnoses speak to the need for more training and resources for professionals involved in identifying, diagnosing, and caring for autistic individuals and their families so we can provide treatment and support as early as possible,” said Kanne, per Healthline.