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What is Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Republic of Georgia?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M. Zirakashvili*
Affiliation:
Ilia State University, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
M. Gabunia
Affiliation:
Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
N. Mebonia
Affiliation:
Tbilisi State Medical University, Epidemiology, Tbilisi, Georgia
T. Mikiashvili
Affiliation:
Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
G. Chvamania
Affiliation:
Ilia State University, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
E. Kurashvili
Affiliation:
Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
V. Nadareishvili
Affiliation:
Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
S. Bishop
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco, Psychiatry And Behavioral Sciences Weill Institute For Neurosciences, San Francisco, United States of America
Y.S. Kim
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco, Psychiatry And Behavioral Sciences Weill Institute For Neurosciences, San Francisco, United States of America
B. Leventhal
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco, Psychiatry And Behavioral Sciences Weill Institute For Neurosciences, San Francisco, United States of America
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Despite the fact that 95% of all <5 years of age children with developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) live in low- and middle-income countries (LAMI), to date there is an information gap in LAMI studies including Republic of Georgia.

Objectives

To estimate the prevalence and describe the clinical characteristics of ASDs among the third-grade school students using a total population approach.

Methods

The target population (N=27,336) included all 3rd grade students of schools of five main cities of Georgia. The study was conducted in four steps: phase I screening, sampling of screen positive students, phase II confirmative diagnostic assessment, and best-estimate diagnosis. Parents and teachers completed two screening questionnaires in phase I: 27-item Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) and 25-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In phase II, screen-positive children were evaluated using standardized diagnostic assessments.

Results

Overall, 16,654 students (82%) were assessed by either parent and/or teacher. Students whose ASSQ and/or SDQ scores were in the top 10th percentile were considered as screened positive for diagnostic assessment (N=1976). Of 300 students completed diagnostic assessment 53 were diagnosed ASD. Crude prevalence of ASDs was estimated to be 4.5%. 75% of cases of ASD were first diagnosed. Efforts are currently underway to compute adjusted prevalence, which will be available for the Conference presentation.

Conclusions

The prevalence data of ASD is important to assess the burden of the disorder and facilitate better understanding of specifics of the disorder in different part of the world.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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