Objectives: To study the national prevalence of 10 developmental disabilities in US children aged 3 to 17 years and explore changes over time by associated demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, using the National Health Interview Survey.
Methods: Data come from the 2009 to 2017 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Parents reported physician or other health care professional diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; autism spectrum disorder; blindness; cerebral palsy; moderate to profound hearing loss; learning disability; intellectual disability; seizures; stuttering or stammering; and other developmental delays. Weighted percentages for each of the selected developmental disabilities and any developmental disability were calculated and stratified by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.
Results: From 2009 to 2011 and 2015 to 2017, there were overall significant increases in the prevalence of any developmental disability (16.2%-17.8%, P < .001), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (8.5%-9.5%, P < .01), autism spectrum disorder (1.1%-2.5%, P < .001), and intellectual disability (0.9%-1.2%, P < .05), but a significant decrease for any other developmental delay (4.7%-4.1%, P < .05). The prevalence of any developmental disability increased among boys, older children, non-Hispanic white and Hispanic children, children with private insurance only, children with birth weight ≥2500 g, and children living in urban areas and with less-educated mothers.
Conclusions: The prevalence of developmental disability among US children aged 3 to 17 years increased between 2009 and 2017. Changes by demographic and socioeconomic subgroups may be related to improvements in awareness and access to health care.
Copyright © 2019 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.