BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- About one in 110, or about 1 percent, among children in U.S. had autism in 2006, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as quoted by media reports Monday.

    The new figure comes from the most comprehensive set of data yet on the developmental health of eight-year-olds from 11 states.

    The number has jumped 57 percent since 2002, when U.S. health officials first began a nationwide effort to quantify the risk of autism in childhood.

    The report also shows that boys outnumber girls in autism prevalence. One in 70 boys were diagnosed with the disorder, compared with one in 315 girls. However, girls diagnosed with autism often have more severe symptoms.

    The symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder are defined as a collection of neurological conditions whose symptoms may range from mild social impairment to more serious communication, language and cognitive deficits.

    However, not all experts are convinced that there is a stunning surge in autism cases. Some children may be given the autism label without meeting the actual case definition for the disorder, the said.

    The increase may be due in part to better diagnosis and changes in how well records were kept in the study sites, said Catherine Rice, a CDC behavioral scientist who worked on the new report.

    The figure was initially estiamted by CDC officials at one in 100 in October, 2009.

    (Agencies）