Estimating the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in New South Wales, Australia: A Data Linkage Study of Three Routinely Collected Datasets

Abstract

Routinely collected data help estimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in jurisdictions without active autism surveillance. We created a population-based cohort of 1,211,834 children born in 2002–2015 in New South Wales, Australia using data linkage. Children with ASD were identified in three datasets – disability services, hospital admissions, and ambulatory mental health data. The prevalence of ASD in the cohort was 1.3% by age 12 and prevalence at age 6 increased an average of 4.1% per year (95% Confidence Interval, 3.3%, 4.8%). Most children with ASD were identified in disability services data (87%), although data linkage identified 1,711 additional cases that were more likely female, older at first contact, and living in major cities and less disadvantaged areas.