CDC: 1 in 31 8-Year Olds Has Autism

Autism diagnoses jumped significantly between 2020 and 2022, and they have surged massively since 2000, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. According to the report released Tuesday, an estimated one in 31 8-year-olds was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2022, up from an estimated one in 36 two years earlier. The rate was just one in 150 in 2000. By 2016, it was one in 54. Researchers say the rise is largely due to improvements in detecting ASD and wider access to screening and services, ABC News reports. The definition of autism has also broadened, with Asperger's disease and similar disorders classed as ASD starting in 2013.

The CDC used data from 16 sites in 14 states and Puerto Rico. Researchers looked at health and school records for 8-year-olds because most autism diagnoses are made by that age, the AP reports. "The most striking piece of this is how unbelievably common presentations of autism are," Zachary Warren, one of the report's authors, tells NBC News. He says doctors are better than ever at identifying ASD. "Without a doubt, we've become exceptionally efficient in this surveillance work," Warren says. According to the CDC report, ASD is 3.4 times more prevalent among boys.

The causes of autism are still largely unknown, though researchers believe genetics plays a big role, NBC reports. "We have pretty compelling data that there are causes of autism, not a single cause," Warren says. He says there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of "different neurogenetic factors that influence presentations of autism." Researchers have also looked at factors including the age of the father, whether the mother had diabetes, and exposure to certain chemicals, reports the AP. Reports of a link between vaccines and autism were debunked years ago, though Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has suggested otherwise. He recently vowed to identify the causes of autism within six months, and the CDC has launched a new search for a link to vaccines. (More autism stories.)