South Korea Town has Highest Autism Rate Ever

Researchers say nearly 3% of kids in Seoul suburb have disease
By Tim Karan,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2011 4:09 PM CDT
South Korea Town has the Highest Autism Rate Ever Recorded
A recent study revealed one South Korea town has the highest autism rate ever recorded.   (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

Researchers have discovered the highest rate of autism ever found in a general population within a suburb of Seoul, South Korea. About 2.6% of the children in Ilsan have some form of the disease, reports the Los Angeles Times. That contrasts with the 1% figure found in the US and Europe, but researchers say that their six-year study was simply more thorough than most and that they would likely find similar rates elsewhere.

About two-thirds of the children diagnosed had milder varieties of autism such as Asperger's, according to the study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The finding came as a jolt to many parents in the middle-class town, where only severe forms of the disease had been previously recognized. "It was so shocking," says one mother. "I felt huge guilt, which is natural for a parent, then pain and hopelessness." (More South Korea stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X