Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2011 Nov;128(5):883-91.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-2846. Epub 2011 Oct 17.

Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in adolescents born weighing <2000 grams

Jennifer A Pinto-Martin  1 , Susan E Levy, Judith F Feldman, John M Lorenz, Nigel Paneth, Agnes H Whitaker
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in adolescents born weighing <2000 grams

Jennifer A Pinto-Martin et al. Pediatrics. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the diagnostic prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in a low birth weight (LBW) cohort.

Methods: Participants belonged to a regional birth cohort of infants (N = 1105) born weighing <2000 g between October 1, 1984, and July 3, 1989, and followed up by periodic assessments to 21 years of age. At 16 years (n = 623), adolescents were screened for ASD using a wide net (previous professional diagnosis of an ASD or a score above a liberal cutoff on the Social Communication Questionnaire or the Autism Spectrum Symptoms Questionnaire). At 21 years (n = 189), 60% of screen positives and 24% of screen negatives were assessed for diagnoses of ASD by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule or the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised.

Results: Samples retained at ages 16 and 21 years were representative of samples assessed at earlier ages except for lower levels of social risk. Of positive screens, 11 of 70 had ASD; of negative screens, 3 of 119 had ASD. The fractions of the 2 screening groups with ASD (14.3% in screen-positives and 2.5% in screen negatives) were weighted by fractions of screen-positives and screen-negatives among the adolescents (18.8% and 81.2%, respectively). This calculation produced an estimated prevalence rate of ASD in the entire cohort of 5% (31 of 623).

Conclusions: The diagnostic prevalence of ASD in this LBW preterm cohort was higher than that reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 8-year-olds in the general US population in 2006.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Sample attrition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Boulet SL, Schieve LA, Boyle CA. Birth weight and health and developmental outcomes in US children, 1997-2005. Matern Child Health J. 2011;15(7):836–844 - PubMed
    1. Moster D, Lie RT, Markestad T. Long-term medical and social consequences of preterm birth. N Engl J Med. 2008;359(3):262–273 - PubMed
    1. Hack M, Taylor HG, Schluchter M, Andreias L, Drotar D, Klein N. Behavioral outcomes of extremely low birth weight children at age 8 years. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2009;30(2):122–130 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mason-Brothers A, Ritvo ER, Pingree C, et al. The UCLA-University of Utah epidemiologic survey of autism: prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors. Pediatrics. 1990;86(4):514–519 - PubMed
    1. Glasson EJ, Bower C, Petterson B, de Klerk N, Chaney G, Hallmayer JF. Perinatal factors and the development of autism: a population study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61(6):618–627 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms