ST. LOUIS — A new Saint Louis University study of nearly a decade of health records finds that the recent rise in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses is being driven largely by girls and women, who are being identified at significantly higher rates than in years past, often years later than boys and men.
The JAMA Network study, led by Erick Messias, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and a SLUCare physician at SSM Health, analyzed electronic health records for 171,134 patients across a large Midwestern healthcare system from 2016 to 2024. It is among the first to track sex-specific autism diagnosis trends across childhood, adolescence and adulthood within the same health system, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key takeaways include:
To discuss the findings with the study’s authors, contact 314-398-5279 or carrie.bebermeyer@slu.edu to arrange an interview.
Co-authors include Emily Casanova, Ph.D.; Regina Huang, M.S.; Siri Battula, B.S.; Rachel Loftin, Ph.D.; and McKenna Walsh, M.A., at Saint Louis University.
The study drew on data from Saint Louis University’s Advanced HEAlth Data (AHEAD) Institute and SSM Health's Virtual Data Warehouse, which captures clinical records for more than five million patients across Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Saint Louis University
Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.
Journal of the American Medical Association
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.24561
Data/statistical analysis
People
Autism Spectrum Disorder Incidence by Age and Sex in a US Health Care System, 2016 to 2024
22-Jul-2026
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Messias reported personal fees from Prosper Health honoraria advisor outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.