Epidemiological studies have shown that hormone abnormalities in pregnant women are a significant potential risk factor for autism in offspring and that sex hormones may be part of the cause of autism.
Research findings mention taking supplements such as folate (folic acid), omega-3s, and vitamin D3, correcting vitamin deficiencies, boosting your immune system, and prolonging breastfeeding as possible ways to reduce the risk of autism (though, of course, they can't eliminate the risk altogether).
A routine prenatal ultrasound can identify early signs of autism, study finds. Summary: A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a new study has found.
High levels of stress during pregnancy may also be connected to autism in children. This connection appears to have the most impact when the parent experiences stress between weeks 25 and 28 of pregnancy.
There are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.
Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father. One of the most common questions asked by parents of children with autism is which parent carries the autism gene.
Genetics. Genetic factors may be the most significant cause of autism. Early studies of twins had estimated heritability to be over 90%, meaning that genetics explains over 90% of whether a child will develop autism. This may be an overestimation, as later twin studies estimate the heritability at between 60 and 90%.
In the United States, prenatal genetic testing (PGT) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is currently available via clinical genetic services. Such testing may inform parents about their unborn child's risk for ASD, prepare parents for the birth of an affected infant, and allow them to arrange for early interventions.
However, a comprehensive analysis found that for a woman over age 35, the chance of having a child with autism is lower than for younger women. That study also suggested that women under age 25 are more likely to have a child with autism than older women.
They also noted that autism was most associated with anomalies in the urinary system, heart, head, and brain. They further found that those with autism tended to have a narrower head and a relatively wider ocular distance compared to typically developing fetuses.
Having a family health history of ASD makes you more likely to have a child with ASD, or to have ASD yourself. If you have a child with ASD, you are more likely to have another child with ASD, especially if you have a daughter with ASD or more than one child with ASD.
Genetics. Several different genes appear to be involved in autism spectrum disorder. For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be associated with a genetic disorder, such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. For other children, genetic changes (mutations) may increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder.
A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka Medical Center has found.
At the same time, firstborn children also showed an increased incidence — 30 percent more than second-borns and 70 percent more than those born third or later.
The earliest study we were able to identify that examined month of birth in association with autism was published in 1981. The investigator compared the birth patterns of 810 children with autism with those of 768 live birth controls and found that children with autism have an excess of March and August births.
Scientists use the term "environmental" to refer to influences other than changes in a gene's DNA. Autism risk factors, for example, appear to include such influences as parental age at conception, maternal nutrition, infection during pregnancy and prematurity.
Doctors look at the child's developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger. By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable. However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until much older.
Are all birth defects discovered before a baby is born? It's not always possible to detect all birth defects in utero. However, high-resolution ultrasounds done by certified prenatal ultrasound groups make it possible to diagnose defects that will cause a significant impact before birth.
Advanced parental age at time of conception. Prenatal exposure to air pollution or certain pesticides. Maternal obesity, diabetes, or immune system disorders. Extreme prematurity or very low birth weight.
Unbalanced dietary patterns before conception may be related to long-term maternal metabolic conditions such as metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes. Those conditions have also been identified as environmental risk factors for ASD as well as other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Key Autism Statistics & Facts
In 2023, the CDC reported that around 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with autism. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.
Spontaneous mutations in paternal sperm are linked to autism spectrum disorder; researchers have developed way to quantify those mutations and assess chances the mutations will cause disease.