In just three years since 2017, the number of diagnosed cases of autism among children and adolescents in the United States has increased by 50%. By 2020, one in every 30 young Americans will already have this developmental disorder.
The number of children in the US diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically in recent years, scientists at the Guangdong University of Pharmacy in China have found. They found that already 3.49% of children and adolescents in the United States, which is the equivalent of one in 30 young people in the country, had autism by 2020. This is a 52% increase in this indicator compared to 2017.
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The study was observational, it did not explain what caused such a sharp jump. But many experts suggest that the increase in cases of autism is simply due to the fact that these disorders are now better detected by early signs. The study itself was based on interviews with members of various families, as well as selective diagnostics of young Americans.
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In 2014, 2.24% of US children and adolescents were thought to have autism. This figure grew smoothly and increased to 2.76% in 2016. Then it dropped sharply to 2.44% in 2017 and suddenly rushed up. It is hardly possible to explain such changes only by improving the diagnosis of autism. (READ MORE) 
< p class="article_expert_name" itemprop="name">Guangdong University of Pharmacy
Medicine
a public university located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China that offers courses in Pharmaceutical Sciences