incidence increased, including among children born after the discontinuation of thimerosal. France France made autism the national focus for the year 2012 and the Health Ministry estimated the rate of autism in 2012 to have been 0.67%, i.e. 1 in 150. Eric Fombonne made some studies in the years 1992 and 1997. He found a prevalence of 16 per 10,000 for the global pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). The INSERM found a prevalence of 27 per 10,000 for the ASD and a prevalence of 9 per 10,000 for the early infantile autism in 2003. Those figures are considered as underrated as the WHO gives figures between 30 and 60 per 10,000. The French Minister of Health gives a prevalence of 4.9 per 10,000 on its website but it counts only early infantile autism. Germany A 2008 study in Germany found that inpatient admission rates for children with ASD increased 30% from 2000 to 2005, with the largest rise between 2000 and 2001 and a decline between 2001 and 2003. Inpatient rates for all mental disorders also rose for ages up to 15 years, so that the ratio of ASD to all admissions rose from 1.3% to 1.4%. Norway A 2009 study in Norway reported prevalence rates for ASD ranging from 0.21% to 0.87%, depending on assessment method and assumptions about non-response, suggesting that methodological factors explain large variances in prevalence rates in different studies. United Kingdom The incidence and changes in incidence with time are unclear in the United Kingdom. The reported autism incidence in the UK rose starting before the first introduction of the MMR vaccine in 1989. However, a perceived link between the two arising from the results of a fraudulent scientific study has caused considerable controversy, despite being subsequently disproved. A 2004 study found that the reported incidence of pervasive developmental disorders in a general practice research database in England and Wales grew steadily during 1988–2001 from 0.11 to 2.98 per 10,000 person-years, and concluded that much of this increase may be due to changes in diagnostic practice. Genetics As late as the mid-1970s there was little evidence of a genetic role in autism; evidence from genetic epidemiology studies now suggests that it is one of the most heritable of all psychiatric conditions. The first studies of twins estimated heritability to be more than 90%; in other words, that genetics explains more than 90% of autism cases. When