BMJ 2002;324:296 ( 2 February )

Letters

Any changes in prevalence of autism must be determined

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Because of the current concern over the rising incidence of autism the BMJ owes its readers better information than a letter based on comments by a focus group of interested parties.1 Would the journal have published a letter from a focus group of parents who believed that MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine) had caused their child's autism? I doubt it.

Rigorous methods are especially important because of a controversial current hypothesis.2 Fombonne has argued that despite reported increases in the prevalence of autism in many countries, the true incidence has remained constant. The impression of an increase, he argues, arises only because of increased rates of detection.

There is no hard evidence to support this hypothesis. The only studies that have explored the question have failed to find a "hidden horde" of autistic children. Burd et al conducted a prevalence study of autism in North Dakota.3 . . . [Full text of this article]
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Prevalence of autism in early 1970s may have been underestimated
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