Bakare M O, Munir K M
Child and Adolescent Unit, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, New Haven, Enugu, Nigeria.
Afr J Psychiatry (Johannesbg). 2011 Jul;14(3):208-10. doi: 10.4314/ajpsy.v14i3.3.
The universal occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was queried about twenty-six years ago. It was thought to occur only in western industrialized countries with high technological development. Over the last decade, knowledge about ASD and its prevalence has been documented as being on the rise in different regions of the world, with most literature coming from the western world -- the situation in Africa on aspects of ASD remain unclear.
Literature cited in Pubmed over the last decade on aspects of epidemiology, diagnosis, aetiology and knowledge of ASD in the African context were assessed.
autism, diagnosis, aetiology, knowledge and Africa were variously combined in the literature search.
No study specifically addressed the epidemiology of ASD in Africa. One of the two studies that were relevant addressed epidemiology of ASD in Arab countries, though included two Northern African countries. A higher proportion of non-verbal cases of ASD compared to verbal cases was documented in literature coming from Africa. Associated co-morbid disorders included intellectual disability, epilepsy and oculo-cutaneous albinism. Aetiological factors postulated included post-encephalitic infection, genetic and auto-immune factors, and vitamin D deficiency. Knowledge about ASD in Africa was noted to be low.
There is a need for epidemiological studies in Africa to define the magnitude of the problem of ASD and the characteristics of children affected by ASD in this region. This would help in planning and might be helpful in answering the question of aetiology of ASD. Policy making needs to be directed at issues of childhood developmental disorders in Africa.
大约26年前，人们开始质疑自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是否普遍存在。当时认为它只发生在技术高度发达的西方工业化国家。在过去十年中，关于ASD及其患病率的知识在世界不同地区都有记录显示在增加，大多数文献来自西方世界——非洲在ASD方面的情况仍不清楚。
评估了过去十年在PubMed上引用的关于非洲背景下ASD的流行病学、诊断、病因和知识方面的文献。
自闭症、诊断、病因、知识和非洲在文献检索中以各种方式组合。
没有研究专门针对非洲ASD的流行病学。两项相关研究之一涉及阿拉伯国家ASD的流行病学，其中包括两个北非国家。来自非洲的文献记录显示，与语言型ASD病例相比，非语言型ASD病例的比例更高。相关的共病包括智力残疾、癫痫和眼皮肤白化病。推测的病因包括脑炎后感染、遗传和自身免疫因素以及维生素D缺乏。非洲对ASD的了解程度较低。
非洲需要进行流行病学研究，以确定该地区ASD问题的严重程度以及受ASD影响儿童的特征。这将有助于规划，可能有助于回答ASD的病因问题。非洲的政策制定需要针对儿童发育障碍问题。
