Autism in the Haifa area--an epidemiological perspective.
BACKGROUND
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder. The incidence rate and other related epidemiological characteristics of the Israeli population are not available.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the incidence rate of autism in the Haifa area and to compare family characteristics with previous reports from other countries.


METHODS
We approached facilities in the Haifa area that are involved with the diagnosis and treatment of autism. The study group comprised children born between 1989 and 1993. Records of the children were scrutinized and 69% of the mothers were interviewed. Live-birth cohorts of the same years were employed for incidence computation.


RESULTS
An incidence rate of 1/1,000 was derived. Male to female ratio was 4.2:1. Pregnancy and perinatal periods were mostly uneventful. A low prevalence of developmental and emotional morbidity was reported for family members.


CONCLUSIONS
The epidemiological characteristics found in the Haifa area are similar to those reported from non-Israeli communities. This finding supports an underlying biological mechanism for this disorder. These data can be used for future trend analyses in Israel.
Davidovitch
M
M
Hannah Khousy Child Development Center, Bnai Zion Medical Center and Rappoport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Holtzman
G
G
Tirosh
E
E
D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D001722:Birth Order; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data