Prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders in the British nationwide survey of child mental health

Objective: The prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) is not well established and needs monitoring. The prevalence of PDD in the 1999 n ationwide British survey of child and adolescent mental health was investig ated. Method: A randomized, stratified sample of children (N = 12,529) aged 5 to 15 years was generated from the Child Benefit Register. Trained inter viewers interviewed parents and youths aged 11 or older with a standardized diagnostic interview (Development and Well-Being Assessment). and question naire data (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) were obtained from te achers and parents, who also completed self-report measures of psychologica l distress. Final diagnostic determination was achieved by a team of experi enced clinicians using all data sources. Results: A total of 10,438 (83%) i nterviews were conducted. There were 2 girls with Rett syndrome (weighted p revalence: 3.8/10,000 girls) and 27 children with other PDD (weighted preva lence: 26.1/10,000). Compared with children with a psychiatric disorder oth er than PDD, social but not behavioral problems were more frequent in the P DD group. Parents of children with PDD had higher rates of psychological di stress. than those from the two comparison groups. Conclusions: Consistent with other recent surveys, PDD rates are higher than those reported 30 year s ago. The burden associated with PDD is very high.