Analysis of Disparities in Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Military Health System Pediatrics Population.
Ocheze Chikezie-Darron, Joshua Sakai, Daniel Tolson
PMID 39789270WHAT IT FOUND
Military children diagnosed within military treatment facilities were diagnosed at younger ages than those diagnosed in the community, with no significant gender disparities.
Non-White children were diagnosed at younger average ages than White children, contrary to typical disparities.
Key findings
01Non-White children diagnosed within military treatment facilities had younger average ages of autism diagnosis than White children.
02Average ages of new autism diagnosis for both males and females were lower within military treatment facilities compared with children diagnosed in the community.
03There was no significant difference in age to diagnosis for females versus males diagnosed with autism within the military treatment facility.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
A large proportion of the study population had unclear racial identification, complicating the interpretation of racial disparities. The study lacked sufficient data on socioeconomic status to evaluate its impact on age at diagnosis. Confounding factors such as transportation availability and caregiver work flexibility were not captured, which may limit access to care even within the military system.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Naval Medical Center San Diego. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the younger diagnosis age for non-White children in the military system reflects a universal trend or superior clinical identification. It may indicate late identification of children who were previously missed, and the lack of racial data for community diagnoses prevents direct comparison of disparities across all settings.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →