From the Department of Pediatric Dentistry (Sabbagh, Aljubour, Alamoudi), College of Dentistry (Alsulami, Hashem) and from the Department of Pediatrics (Al-Jabri), Faculty of Medicine, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Med J. 2021 Apr;42(4):419-427. doi: 10.15537/smj.2021.42.4.20200630.
To assess the prevalence and characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)-affected children attending autistic centers in 2 major cities in Saudi Arabia.
A cross-sectional study, including ASD centers and schools (37 centers) in Makkah and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was conducted between January and March 2020. Data were collected from records and parents of children with ASD using a questionnaire on sociodemographic, family history, consanguinity, severity, and maternal risk factors.
All centers in Makkah and Jeddah participated, with a total of 1,023 ASD children. The prevalence of ASD was 2.618 per 1,000 children for Jeddah, 3.68 per 1,000 children for Makkah and 2.81 per 1,000 children for both Jeddah and Makkah. There was no statistically significant relationship between the severity of ASD and sociodemographic, family and maternal risk factors. However, there was statistically significant relationship between severe ASD and ASD family history (=0.029, OR: 3.46 and 95% CI 1.14 to 10.5).
The prevalence of ASD in Makkah and Jeddah was lower than the global prevalence of ASD. Individuals with a family history of ASD were more likely to have more severe ASD.
评估在沙特阿拉伯两个主要城市的自闭症中心就诊的自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患儿的患病率和特征。
这是一项在 2020 年 1 月至 3 月期间在沙特阿拉伯麦加和吉达进行的横断面研究，包括 ASD 中心和学校（37 个中心）。使用问卷收集 ASD 儿童的社会人口统计学、家族史、近亲结婚、严重程度和母亲危险因素等数据，这些数据来自于记录和 ASD 儿童的家长。
麦加和吉达的所有中心都参与了研究，共有 1023 名 ASD 儿童。吉达的 ASD 患病率为每 1000 名儿童中有 2.618 名，麦加的 ASD 患病率为每 1000 名儿童中有 3.68 名，吉达和麦加的 ASD 患病率均为每 1000 名儿童中有 2.81 名。ASD 的严重程度与社会人口统计学、家庭和母亲危险因素之间没有统计学上的显著关系。然而，严重 ASD 与 ASD 家族史之间存在统计学上的显著关系（=0.029，OR：3.46，95%CI 1.14 至 10.5）。
麦加和吉达的 ASD 患病率低于全球 ASD 患病率。有 ASD 家族史的个体更有可能患有更严重的 ASD。
