Researchers studying autism prevalence should take into account the continuous nature of autism symptoms in the general population, says John Constantino.

New Jersey’s autism rates, which are consistently higher than those of other U.S. states, add weight to the possibility of a true increase in autism prevalence, says Walter Zahorodny.

The availability of neighborhood resources, such as pediatricians and advocacy organizations, influences rates of autism diagnoses, according to research published 7 December in Social Science and Medicine.

Since 2000, the number of scientific papers published on autism has been growing faster than the overall rate of scientific publications. 

Of the 305 people diagnosed with autism in Utah in the 1980s, 29 have died. This is about ten times higher than the death rate in the general population during the same time period, according to a study published 25 September in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Women who have the flu while pregnant double their risk of having a child with autism, according to a large study published 12 November in Pediatrics. The results add to growing evidence of a connection between maternal infection and autism.

Researchers are digging into the myriad causes of autism to refine its definition and find elusive biological signatures.

Geographical differences in autism prevalence can largely be accounted for by socioeconomic factors, according to research published 31 October in Environmental Health. The study confirms the importance of controlling for variables such as parents’ educational status when searching for environmental links to autism.

The risk of developing autism increases for every week short of 37 weeks of gestation, according to a large epidemiological study published 1 September in The Journal of Pediatrics.

A new study finds that 48 of every 10,000 children in Israel have autism. This rate, published 27 July in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, is higher than previous estimates for Israel, but lower than the reported U.S. prevalence.