The Epidemiology of Asperger Syndrome

TLDR

The study situates its findings within prior research and references ICD‑10 draft criteria for Asperger syndrome. The authors aimed to conduct a population-based study of Asperger syndrome using a two-stage screening and diagnostic procedure. All school children in an outer Gothenburg borough were screened as part of the two-stage procedure. The study reported a minimum prevalence of 3.6 per 1,000 children (ages 7–16) with a male‑to‑female ratio of 4.1; including suspected cases, prevalence rose to 7.1 per 1,000 and the ratio dropped to 2.3:1.

Abstract

Abstract— This paper describes a total population study of Asperger syndrome using a two‐stage procedure. All school children in an outer Goteborg borough were screened. Final case selection based on clinical work‐up showed a minimum prevalence of 3 6 per 1.000 children (7–16 years of age) using Gillberg and Gillberg's criteria and a male to female ratio of 4.1 Including suspected and possible Asperger syndrome cases, the prevalence rose to 7.1 per 1 000 children and the male:female ratio dropped to 2.3:1. These findings are discussed as they relate to previously published results in the field and to findings obtained using Szatmari et al . "s and ICD‐10 draft criteria for the disorder