University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Boston University School of Public Health, USA.
Autism. 2021 Feb;25(2):588-592. doi: 10.1177/1362361320957463. Epub 2020 Sep 14.
In 2016, the US Preventive Services Task Force concluded that there was "insufficient" ("I" statement) evidence to support universal primary care screening for autism spectrum disorder. The statement led to controversy among research and clinical communities. Although a number of papers have since been published arguing for the potential benefit of autism spectrum disorder screening, none adequately address the potential harms of autism spectrum disorder screening. This evidence gap may relate to confusion regarding how the US Preventive Services Task Force conceptualizes and evaluates potential harm. In this commentary, we explore how the US Preventive Services Task Force operationalizes harm and discuss how the potential for harm was described in the "I" statement on autism spectrum disorder screening. This information can serve as a guide for investigators working to study the benefits and harms of autism spectrum disorder screening in order to fill the research gaps cited by the US Preventive Services Task Force report. Finally, we recommend future research directions for exploring harms of autism spectrum disorder screening, filling cited research gaps, and ultimately ensuring that the benefits of autism spectrum disorder screening truly outweigh the harms for all children and their families.
2016 年，美国预防服务工作组得出结论，认为没有足够的证据支持普遍开展自闭症谱系障碍的初级保健筛查。这一说法在研究和临床界引起了争议。尽管此后发表了许多论文，认为自闭症谱系障碍筛查具有潜在益处，但没有一篇论文充分探讨自闭症谱系障碍筛查的潜在危害。这一证据空白可能与美国预防服务工作组对潜在危害的概念化和评估方式有关。在这篇评论中，我们探讨了美国预防服务工作组如何实施危害，并讨论了“自闭症谱系障碍筛查”的“I”声明中是如何描述潜在危害的。这些信息可以为研究自闭症谱系障碍筛查的获益和危害的研究人员提供指导，以填补美国预防服务工作组报告中提到的研究空白。最后，我们建议未来的研究方向，以探讨自闭症谱系障碍筛查的危害，填补已确定的研究空白，并最终确保自闭症谱系障碍筛查的获益确实超过所有儿童及其家庭的危害。
