Estimación de la prevalencia de trastorno del Espectro Autista en población urbana chilena

Introduction The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased, varying between 0.5 and 1% around the world. The prevalence of ASD in Chile is unknown. Objective To estimate the prevalence of ASD in two urban communes of Santiago, Chile. Subjects and method Cross-sectional epidemiological study. 272 children aged between 18-30 months who attended well-child visits at two Family Health Centers in two urban communes of Santiago participated. Consecutive sampling was used and chil dren who were already being monitored by neurology were excluded. Screening was performed using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT). Those children with altered M-CHAT were evaluated by a pediatric neurologist at the San Borja Arriaran Clinical Hospital and diagnosed with ASD according to clinical criteria. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule - Second Ver sion (ADOS-2) was used as a diagnostic complement. The prevalence of ASD was estimated with a 95% confidence interval. Results 44 children had altered M-CHAT; 5 of them were clinically diagno sed with ASD. A 1.95% prevalence of ASD (95% CI 0.81-4.63) was obtained, with a sex distribution of 4 boys per 1 girl. Conclusions This study is the first estimate of ASD prevalence in two communes of Santiago, Chile. A high prevalence of this condition was observed, which highlights the need for obtaining resources for an early multidisciplinary approach for these patients.