ArticleMolecular psychiatry2022
Incidence, prevalence, and global burden of autism spectrum disorder from 1990 to 2019 across 204 countries.
Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
124 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 199 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of exercise interventions on executive function in autism spectrum disorder: a three-level meta-analytic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Global Prevalence of Combustible Cigarettes and Noncombustible Nicotine or Tobacco Products Use Among Adolescents, 2014-2021.Journal of Korean medical science · 2025Pooled it
- Biomarkers and pathways in autism spectrum disorder: An individual meta-analysis based on proteomic and metabolomic data.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Oculomics approaches using retinal imaging to predict mental health disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International ophthalmology · 2025Pooled it
- Autism, youth suicide, and psychedelics: A review of the 21st century evidence.Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in mainland china over the past 6 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Sociodemographic reporting and sample composition over 3 decades of psychopathology research: A systematic review and quantitative synthesis.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2024Pooled it
- Exploring the landscape of adult autism research in psychology: a bibliometric and network analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and vision problems. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of fecal microbiota transplantation in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- The global prevalence of autism spectrum disorder: A three-level meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Assessment of the Efficacy of Quercetin in Adult Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Human psychopharmacology · 2026Trial
- Efficacy and safety of allogeneic umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells therapy in children with autism spectrum disorder and immune dysregulation: a single-center, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Stem cell research & therapy · 2026Trial
- Accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation targeting left primary motor cortex for children with autism spectrum disorder: multicentre randomised sham controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Trial
- Effect of fundamental movement skills practice on executive function and social interaction ability in children with moderate autism: a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Mobile App-Assisted Parent Training Intervention for Behavioral Problems in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR human factors · 2024Trial
- Autism: epidemiology, genetics, molecular mechanisms, clinical features, diagnosis, and management.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Review
- Examining the association between autistic traits and psychopathology in the general population: are there sex differences?European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- HPSC-derived mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate murine autistic-like phenotypes through activating oxytocinergic neurons.Science advances · 2026Article
- Article
64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
30 authors at 19 institutions in 12 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) substantially contributes to the burden of mental disorders. Improved awareness and changes in diagnostic criteria of ASD may have influenced the diagnostic rates of ASD. However, while data on trends in diagnostic rates in some individual countries have been published, updated estimates of diagnostic rate trends and ASD-related disability at the global level are lacking. Here, we used the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study data to address this gap, focusing on changes in prevalence, incidence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of ASD across the world. From 1990 to 2019, overall age-standardized estimates remained stable globally. Both prevalence and DALYs increased in countries with high socio-demographic index (SDI). However, the age-standardized incidence decreased in some low SDI countries, indicating a need to improve awareness. The male/female ratio decreased between 1990 and 2019, possibly accounted for by increasing clinical attention to ASD in females. Our results suggest that ASD detection in low SDI countries is suboptimal, and that ASD prevention/treatment in countries with high SDI should be improved, considering the increasing prevalence of the disorder. Additionally, growing attention is being paid to ASD diagnosis in females, who might have been left behind by ASD epidemiologic and clinical research previously. ASD burden estimates are underestimated as GBD does not account for mortality in ASD.
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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.