Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Infants: A Review on Predictors, Early Markers, and Diagnostic Tests

Abstract

Background: According to estimates by the World Health Organization and the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, the prevalence of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has increased significantly in recent decades, reaching today approximately 1 in every 68 children. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the state of knowledge regarding markers, predictors, and early diagnosis of ASD (0-23 months of age). Method: A search was conducted for articles published in the PubMed Central: PMC scientific literature database, using the “autism spectrum disorder” and “early diagnosis” search algorithms. The following inclusion criteria were observed: articles describing predictors and early markers, and methods of diagnosis of ASD in infants. Results: A total of 65 documents were considered eligible and submitted to the full text review, of which 42 met the inclusion criteria: 16 with predictors, 9 with early markers and 16 with diagnostic tests for ASD. Conclusion: There is still a need to strengthen evidence for the clinical practice of ASD diagnosis by two years of age. The findings of this study regarding predictors, early markers and diagnostic tests are intended to facilitate the detection and early intervention in these patients by health professionals.