ERIC Number: EJ1470805
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3432
Available Date: 2023-08-29
Prevalence and Characteristics of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area
Walter Zahorodny1; Josephine Shenouda1,2; Kate Sidwell1; Michael G. Verile1; Cindy Cruz Alvarez1; Arline Fusco1; Audrey Mars3; Mildred Waale1; Tara Gleeson4; Gail Burack5; Paul Zumoff1
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v55 n6 p2043-2049 2025
Purpose: Almost all epidemiologic studies estimating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence have focused on school-age children. This study provides the first population-based data on the prevalence and expression of ASD among adolescents in a large US metropolitan region. Methods: Active multiple source ASD surveillance of adolescents aged 16-years was conducted according to the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network method in a four-county New Jersey metropolitan region. Prevalence estimates are provided, characteristics are described and comparison of the distribution and characteristics of ASD is offered for this cohort, at 8 and 16-years. Results: ASD prevalence was 17.7 per 1000 (95% CI: 16.3-19.2)]. One-in-55 males and one in 172 females were identified with ASD. High-SES was positively associated with ASD and White adolescents had higher ASD prevalence (22.2 per 1000) than Hispanic adolescents (13.1 per 1000). One in four study-confirmed individuals with ASD did not have an ASD diagnosis. A majority of ASD adolescents (58.8%) had a co-occurring neuropsychiatric disorder. White and High-SES individuals had greater likelihood of co-occurring disorder. The demographic distribution and functional profile of ASD was similar in this cohort at 8 and 16-years. Conclusion: Approximately one-in-55 adolescents in our area had ASD, in 2014, and one-in-4 16-year-olds with ASD was not diagnosed. A majority (3-in-5) of the adolescents with ASD had a co-occurring neuropsychiatric disorder. ASD under-identification and the high frequency of co-disorders in adolescents with ASD pose significant challenges to care and support.
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Incidence, Adolescents, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Gender Differences, Socioeconomic Status, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Comorbidity, Individual Characteristics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Jersey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Rutgers University – New Jersey Medical School, Newark, USA; 2Rutgers University – School of Public Health, Piscataway, USA; 3Hunterdon Health, Flemington, USA; 4Goryeb Children’s Hospital, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, USA; 5Rutgers University - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, USA