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Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Epilepsy, and Cerebral Palsy in Norwegian Children
Pediatrics, 07/11/2012
Suren P et al. – The findings demonstrate the significant burden of disease associated with neurologic and neurodevelopmental disorders in children and that this burden is disproportionately skewed toward boys.
Methods- The study has determined the proportions of children aged 0 to 11 years with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, and cerebral palsy (CP) in Norway.
- The data were obtained from the Norwegian Patient Register, which is nationwide and contains diagnoses assigned by Norwegian specialist health services (hospitals and outpatient clinics).
- The Norwegian Patient Register started collecting individual-level data in 2008, and the follow-up period for the study is years 2008 through 2010.
- For ASD, ADHD, and epilepsy, the proportions were highest in the oldest children.
- At age 11 years, the incidence was 0.7% for ASD, 2.9% for ADHD, and 0.9% for epilepsy.
- The cumulative incidence is likely to be higher because some cases diagnosed before 2008 were probably missed.
- For CP, the proportions were -0.3% for age >5 years.
- There was considerable overlap between diagnoses.
