Worldwide research in autism: Mapping the literature by bibliometric analysis

Due to increased awareness and better diagnostic methods the reported prevalence of autism has increased dramatically. Despite this, to our knowledge, no bibliometric analysis on the topic has been conducted. The aim was to analyse the existing literature on autism prevalence in the Web of Science (WoS). A total of 958 articles on the prevalence of autism were retrieved and analysed from various WoS databases between the years 1976 and 2024. Biblioshiny, an R-Studio package, and Excel spreadsheets were used for the statistical processing of the data. Publications on autism prevalence showed an average annual growth rate of 5.73 % with the highest activity period occurring between 2015 and 2021. The most relevant articles were primarily published in the "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders," featuring prominent authors such as Fombonne and Durkin. Collaboration among authors has increased. Researched topics include psychiatric disorders, comorbid conditions, and risk factors, while the most frequent keywords reflect populations such as "children" and "adolescents". The United States is the most productive country, followed by the United Kingdom and China, highlighting the global relevance of autism research. This study provides a global perspective, acknowledging both historical and current points of significance in the major research areas and trends concerning the worldwide prevalence of autism. • Bibliometric analysis of global autism research. • Demonstrates trends in worldwide prevalence rates of autism. • Acknowledges historical and current points of significance in major research areas.