The delay in diagnosis could
be even more prolonged in child and adolescent
psychiatry because of the rarity of the disorder,
resulting in a proportion of patients passing the age
of 18 years, thereby causing a lower incidence of
EOS. This explanation is supported by the higher
average age at EOS diagnosis in the time period
1971–1993 compared to 1994–2010, suggesting a
possible delay in diagnosis in the former compared
to the latter