{
  "id": 5166948,
  "title": "Autism diagnoses rising fastest among girls and women, study finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/autism-diagnoses-rising-fastest-among-girls-and-women-study-finds",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-02T20:40:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-autism-fastest-girls-women.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A recent study published in JAMA Network Open reveals that the rise in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses is predominantly affecting girls and women, according to a new analysis of health records from a large Midwestern health care system. Led by Dr. Erick Messias, the research, conducted over a decade and spanning from 2016 to 2024, discovered that while male diagnoses remained relatively stable, female diagnoses surged after 2020, with these individuals being diagnosed an average of 3.4 years later than males. This trend suggests that the increase in autism diagnoses is primarily due to improved recognition of autism in females, rather than an overall increase in autism prevalence. The study, which analyzed data from over 171,000 patients, also noted a decline in diagnoses of Asperger disorder, reflecting a shift towards the broader autism spectrum disorder classification.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}