Autism.. Comparable Prevalence Among Women and Men According to a Recent Study

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal reveals that autism may be just as common among women as among men, challenging the prevailing estimates that suggest three boys are diagnosed for every one girl, with most diagnoses occurring before the age of ten.

The study, which followed 2.7 million people in Sweden and the United States up to the age of 37, shows that the gap completely disappears by the age of twenty, with the ratio becoming nearly one to one. The peak age of diagnosis for boys is between 10 and 14, while for girls it occurs later, reaching its highest point between 15 and 19.

Researchers attribute this delay to the fact that girls often possess social and communication skills that help them mask symptoms, leading current medical practices to fail in detecting autism in them at an early stage. However, the study did not take into account genetic factors or interactions with other conditions, such as attention deficit disorders or intellectual disabilities.

Experts warn that the absence of diagnosis is linked to severe psychological difficulties that can extend to suicidal tendencies. They stress the need to update screening mechanisms and to investigate the causes of this diagnostic gap, particularly as the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has increased worldwide over the past three decades.