The global prevalence and rank of nonfatal burden of autism spectrum disorder are high, according to a review published online in The Lancet Psychiatry, reports Drugs.com.
Damian Santomauro, Ph.D., from the University of Queensland in Archerfield, Australia, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to estimate the global prevalence and health burden of autism spectrum disorder.
The researchers found that in 2021, an estimated 61.8 million individuals were on the autism spectrum globally.
The global age-standardized prevalence was 788.3 per 100,000 people.
Globally, autism spectrum disorder accounted for 11.5 million disability-adjusted life-years.
For people younger than 20 years, autism spectrum disorder was ranked within the top 10 causes of nonfatal health burden.
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