Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Kristen Lyall; Aisha S Dickerson; Annette M Green; Seth Frndak; Lisa A Croen; Jennifer L Ames; Lyndsay A Avalos; Judy L Aschner; Nicole R Bush; Carlos A Camargo; Viren D'Sa; Stephen R Dager; Anne L Dunlop; Assiamira Ferrara; Jody M Ganiban; James E Gern; Tre D Gissandaner; J Carolyn Graff; Irva Hertz-Picciotto; Alison E Hipwell; Tengfei Ma; Meghan Miller; Laura Murphy; Margaret R Karagas; Rachel S Kelly; Amy Margolis; Daphne Koinis-Mitchell; Cindy T McEvoy; Daniel Messinger; Ruby Nguyen; Emily Oken; Sally Ozonoff; Grier P Page; Susan L Schantz; Rebecca J Schmidt; Coral L Shuster; Julie B Schweitzer; Stephen J Sheinkopf; Joseph B Stanford; Cindy O Trevino; Scott T Weiss; Heather E Volk; Robert M Joseph; program collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

doi:10.1002/aur.3296

Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Lyall K, Dickerson AS, Green AM, Frndak S, Croen LA, Ames JL, Avalos LA, Aschner JL, Bush NR, Camargo CA, D'Sa V, Dager SR, Dunlop AL, Ferrara A, Ganiban JM, Gern JE, Gissandaner TD, Graff JC, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Ma T, Miller M, Murphy L, Karagas MR, Kelly RS, Margolis A, Koinis-Mitchell D, McEvoy CT, Messinger D, Nguyen R, Oken E, Ozonoff S, Page GP, Schantz SL, Schmidt RJ, Shuster CL, Schweitzer JB, Sheinkopf SJ, Stanford JB, Trevino CO, Weiss ST, Volk HE, Joseph RM, program collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

Published March 2025 Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 18(3), 648-659

DOI 10.1002/aur.3296 PMID 39778060 PMC PMC11929602

Abstract

Prevalence of autism diagnosis has historically differed by demographic factors. Using data from 8224 participants drawn from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we examined relationships between demographic factors and parent-reported autism-related traits as captured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; T score > 65) and compared these to relations with parent-reported clinician diagnosis of ASD, in generalized linear mixed effects regression analyses. Results suggested lower odds of autism diagnosis, but not of SRS T > 65, for non-Hispanic Black children (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.76, 95% CI 0.55, 1.06) relative to non-Hispanic White children. Higher maternal education was associated with reduced odds of both outcomes (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.51, 1.05 for ASD autism diagnosis and 0.4, 95% CI 0.29, 0.55 for SRS score). In addition, results suggested a lower likelihood of autism diagnosis but a higher likelihood of an SRS score > 65 in Black girls. Findings suggest lower diagnostic recognition of autism in non-Hispanic Black children, despite a similar degree of SRS-assessed autism-related traits falling in the clinically elevated range. Further work is needed to address this disparity.

Kristen Lyall, Aisha S Dickerson, Annette M Green, Seth Frndak, Lisa A Croen, Jennifer L Ames, Lyndsay A Avalos, Judy L Aschner, Nicole R Bush, Carlos A Camargo, Viren D'Sa, Stephen R Dager, Anne L Dunlop, Assiamira Ferrara, Jody M Ganiban, James E Gern, Tre D Gissandaner, J Carolyn Graff, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Alison E Hipwell, Tengfei Ma, Meghan Miller, Laura Murphy, Margaret R Karagas, Rachel S Kelly, Amy Margolis, Daphne Koinis-Mitchell, Cindy T McEvoy, Daniel Messinger, Ruby Nguyen, Emily Oken, Sally Ozonoff, Grier P Page, Susan L Schantz, Rebecca J Schmidt, Coral L Shuster, Julie B Schweitzer, Stephen J Sheinkopf, Joseph B Stanford, Cindy O Trevino, Scott T Weiss, Heather E Volk, Robert M Joseph

K Lyall, A Dickerson, A Green, S Frndak, L Croen, Jen Ames, Jenny Ames, J Ames, L Avalos, J Aschner, N Bush, C Camargo, V D'Sa, Steve Dager, S Dager, A Dunlop, A Ferrara, J Ganiban, Jim Gern, Jimmy Gern, J Gern, T Gissandaner, I Hertz-Picciotto, A Hipwell, T Ma, M Miller, L Murphy, Maggie Karagas, Peggy Karagas, M Karagas, R Kelly, A Margolis, D Koinis-Mitchell, C McEvoy, Dan Messinger, Danny Messinger, D Messinger, R Nguyen, E Oken, S Ozonoff, G Page, Sue Schantz, S Schantz, Becky Schmidt, R Schmidt, C Shuster, J Schweitzer, Steve Sheinkopf, S Sheinkopf, Joe Stanford, Joey Stanford, J Stanford, C Trevino, S Weiss, H Volk, Bob Joseph, Rob Joseph, Bobby Joseph, R Joseph

PMID 39778060 39778060 DOI 10.1002/aur.3296 10.1002/aur.3296 Lyall et al. 2025, Lyall 2025

Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Abstract

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