ArticleBMC public health2004
Validation of the diagnosis of autism in general practitioner records.
Article in BMC public health, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and onset of regression within autism spectrum disorders: a meta-analytic review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2013Pooled it
- Validity of diagnostic coding within the General Practice Research Database: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2010Pooled it
- Validation and validity of diagnoses in the General Practice Research Database: a systematic review.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2010Pooled it
- Health databases and early identification of autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Prior Diagnoses and Age of Diagnosis in Children Later Diagnosed with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Psychotropic Medication Use in Children and Youth with Autism Enrolled in Medicaid.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Validation of Autism Diagnosis and Clinical Data in the SPARK Cohort.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2022Article
- Epilepsy in adulthood: Prevalence, incidence, and associated antiepileptic drug use in autistic adults in a state Medicaid system.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2021Article
- Psychotropic Medication Prescribing for Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities in Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the UK.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2020Observational
- Is the Autism Boom Headed for Medicaid? Patterns in the Enrollment of Autistic Adults in Wisconsin Medicaid, 2008-2018.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2019Article
- Gender Differences and Similarities: Autism Symptomatology and Developmental Functioning in Young Children.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2019Article
- Polycystic ovary syndrome and autism: A test of the prenatal sex steroid theory.Translational psychiatry · 2018Article
- Foster Care Involvement Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2018Article
- Maternal depression and antidepressant use during pregnancy and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.Clinical epidemiology · 2018Article
- Validation of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses recorded in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, 1990-2014.Clinical epidemiology · 2017Article
- Maternal Pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index and Autism Spectrum Disorder among Offspring: A Population-Based Case-Control Study.Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology · 2016Article
- Service Needs Across the Lifespan for Individuals with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2016Article
- Development of a Machine Learning Algorithm for the Surveillance of Autism Spectrum Disorder.PloS one · 2016Article
- Risk of breast cancer in symptomatic women in primary care: a case-control study using electronic records.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Article
- An Exploratory Survey for Understanding Perceptions, Knowledge and Educational Needs of General Practitioners (GSs) Regarding Autistic Disorders in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe report on the validity of the computerized diagnoses of autism in a large case-control study investigating the possible association between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the UK using the General Practitioner Research Database (GPRD). We examined anonymized copies of all relevant available clinical reports, including general practitioners' (GP) notes, consultant, speech therapy and educational psychologists reports, on 318 subjects born between 1973 and 1997 with a diagnosis of autism or a related disorder recorded in their electronic general practice record.
methodsData were abstracted to a case validation form allowing for the identification of developmental symptoms relevant to the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs). Information on other background clinical and familial features was also abstracted. A subset of 50 notes was coded independently by 2 raters to derive reliability estimates for key clinical characteristics.
resultsFor 294 subjects (92.5%) the diagnosis of PDD was confirmed after review of the records. Of these, 180 subjects (61.2%) fulfilled criteria for autistic disorder. The mean age at first recording of a PDD diagnosis in the GPRD database was 6.3 years (SD = 4.6). Consistent with previous estimates, the proportion of subjects experiencing regression in the course of their development was 19%. Inter-rater reliability for the presence of a PDD diagnosis was good (kappa =.73), and agreement on clinical features such as regression, age of parental recognition of first symptoms, language delay and presence of epilepsy was also good (kappas ranging from.56 to 1.0).
conclusionsThis study provides evidence that the positive predictive value of a diagnosis of autism recorded in the GPRD is high.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.