In France, the increase in the number of autistic patients is confirmed

3/9/2020, 11:16:18 PM

Children aged 8 are the most affected, especially boys, according to a new study.

This is a first in France: two studies on the figures for autism and its increase are published this Tuesday in the weekly epidemiology bulletin of the national public health agency. Until then France only had estimates made from projections on the number of autistic people. A gap that had been pinned down by the Court of Auditors in 2018 as well as the " sight navigation " of public policies, for lack of precise figures. Better understanding the prevalence of autistic disorders is a “ major issue ”, underlines in the preamble to these studies Claire Compagnon, interministerial delegate “Autism”.

The first article confirms an increase in autism spectrum disorders in children aged 8, thanks in particular to more precise diagnoses. While France does not yet have national data, the researchers relied on two registers in departments which systematically register children born between 1995 and 2010