Prevalence and socioeconomic correlates of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in south east Nigeria

The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and socio-economic determinants of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study that assessed the prevalence and socio-economic pattern of childhood autism among chi...

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Published inAfrican health sciences Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 936 - 942
Main Authors Chinawa, Josephat M, Manyike, Pius C, Aniwada, Elias C, Chinawa, Awoere T, Obu, Herbert A, Odetunde, Odutola I, Nwokocha, Ada Rc, Ibekwe, Roland R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Uganda Makerere Medical School 01.01.2016
Subjects
Adolescent
Age Factors
Autism
Autistic Disorder - epidemiology
Child
Child, Preschool
Childhood
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Nigeria - epidemiology
Prevalence
Primary education
Secondary schools
Socioeconomic Factors
Nigeria
primary and secondary schools
Nigeria
Childhood autism
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Summary:The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and socio-economic determinants of autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study that assessed the prevalence and socio-economic pattern of childhood autism among children attending primary and secondary schools in Enugu and Ebonyi states, South East Nigeria. The questionnaire was adapted from American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). The study was carried out between June and October, 2014. The schools were selected by listing all the mixed schools in the urban and semi- urban areas by simple random sampling. A total of 721 subjects completed the questionnaire. The age of respondents ranged between 3 and 18 years, with mean age of 12.71 and standard deviation of 3.03 years. Twenty one children fulfilled the criteria for autism giving a prevalence of 2.9%. There is a significant association between age in categories (fishers exact test, p = 0.013) and social class (p=0.033). The prevalence of autism was 2.9%; and the socio-economic characteristics of childhood autism in South East Nigeria are similar to those in other parts of the world.
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ISSN:1680-6905
1729-0503
1680-6905
DOI:10.4314/ahs.v16i4.8