ASD Prevalence Study across Europe: Strategy Design based on two different methodologies

Background and objectives / introduction Over the past 30 years the number of reported cases of ASD has increased. Consequently, ASD organizations are requesting more services and pressuring governments to respond. The few... [ view full abstract ]

Background and objectives / introduction
Over the past 30 years the number of reported cases of ASD has increased. Consequently, ASD organizations are requesting more services and pressuring governments to respond. The few mechanisms to obtain reliable information on ASD trends are an obstacle to generate political decisions. The main objective of this study is to present the strategy for the estimation of ASD prevalence in school-aged children at the European level.
Methodology
Cross-sectional study design, using two methods of ascertaining ASD cases in a total of 12 countries : 1) information from population-based registries (4 countries) and 2) field methods based on screening in primary schools. Target population: children aged 7-9 years residing within the selected areas during 2016 (8 countries: 8,000-10,000 children per country). Prevalence rates and their 95% confidence intervals and comparisons between countries will be estimated.
Results
Analysis of differences between the two methods could suggest which strategy would fit best for future EU prevalence measurements. Challenges in the study field organization, ethical issues and different levels of support from the educational-social-health authorities and preliminary data on schools participation rates will also be outcomes.
Conclusions/Perspectives
This is the first study aimed to estimate ASD prevalence throughout Europe using different methods which will be fundamental to characterize ASD children across Europe in terms of demography, schooling, etc.

Authors have not conflicts of interest and prevalence study is being submitted to the ethics committees of each country [ view full abstract ]

Authors have not conflicts of interest and prevalence study is being submitted to the ethics committees of each country