The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased in recent decades, much of which is related to changes in diagnostic criteria, and greater awareness among professionals and parents. Using a prospective cross-sectional study design, this study explores the prevalence of ASD among 173 adolescents admitted to two psychiatric facilities…

This study was conducted to determine pregnant women's exposure to third-hand smoke, beliefs and influencing factors. The study included 400 pregnant women in a tertiary care obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using personal information form, Beliefs About Third-Hand Smoke Scale (BATHS-T) and Fagerström Test for…

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder that includes deficits in social communication and interaction, and restricted and repetitive behaviours, interests, or activities. This survey was done to assess autism spectrum disorder prevalence in 16- to 30-month-old children at an urban-rural distribution and determine the association of…

We estimated risk factors associated with suspected neuropsychomotor developmental delay at age 2 years, in a birth cohort in the Brazilian Amazon. The Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Acre (MINA-Brasil) study is a population-based birth cohort involving children born between July 2015 and June 2016 in the municipality of Cruzeiro do…

Genetics, environment, and their interactions impact autism spectrum disorder etiology. Smoking is a suspected autism spectrum disorder risk factor due to biological plausibility and high prevalence. Using two large epidemiological samples, we examined whether autism spectrum disorder was associated with prenatal paternal smoking in a Discovery…

The assessment of fine motor skills in preschoolers becomes a determining indicator of a child's health conditions. The objective of the present study was to determine the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors of children with delayed development of fine motor skills. The participants were 240 boys and girls from 2 to 5 years old from the…

Background: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure is a major cause of brain damage and developmental delay, known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) but in Poland is rarely diagnosed and the scale of problem is not known. Methods: An active case ascertainment approach was applied to estimate the prevalence of FASD among 7-9 years olds. Pre-screening…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disability with significant implications for learning and behaviour. International research suggests that the prevalence of FASD in school-aged children is 2.3-6.3%. In this paper, we address the questions: (1) what is FASD; (2) what is the prevalence of FASD in schools; (3)…

Background: A high prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure has been reported among children in care and thus, the risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in this population is high. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to estimate the number of children (0-18 years) in care with FASD and to determine the associated cost by age…

Researching the epidemiology and estimating the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) for mainstream populations anywhere in the world has presented a challenge to researchers. Three major approaches have been used in the past: surveillance and record review systems, clinic-based studies, and…

From 1973 to 1983 the number and proportion of mentally retarded persons in the total population of Sweden has not changed, but there are fewer children and young persons and more adults. The changes are hypothetically attributed to prenatal diagnosis, improved obstetrical techniques, and the introduction of antibiotics in 1948. (Author/VW)

Examination of 1,000 Finnish patients with mental retardation indicated that infectious diseases were the only cause of mental retardation in 11.1 percent and a contributory cause in a further 1.5 percent. Among the former group of 111 patients, the causative infectious disease operated prenatally in 18 percent and perinatally/postnatally in 82…

The report presents information on the incidence and prevention of preterm births which are related to infant death and subsequent handicapping conditions. The first chapter analyzes statistics from Sweden, Britain, Scotland, Canada and the U.S. on optimum birthweight. European developments in the prevention of preterm birth are reviewed as well…