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Autism News: Maternal Health, Lifestyle Affects Autism Risk

04/04/2010 19:56:00 admin
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Editor's note: April 2 is the Autism Awareness Day. We publish the following piece for those who might be interested.

Chinese researchers published an autism study in the April 1, 2010 issue of Journal of autism and developmental disorders suggesting that autism risk can be associated with maternal health and lifestyle.

Zhang X and colleagues from Tianjin Medical University in Tianjin China conducted a case-control study involving 190 Han children with autism and without the condition and identified seven prenatal and seven perinatal risk factors significantly associated with autism.

Further autism research found nine of the 14 factors were significantly associated with autism. They include maternal second-hand smoking, maternal chronic or acute medical condition unrelated to pregnancy, maternal unhappy emotional state, gestational complications, edema, abnormal gestational age less than 35 or more than 42 weeks, nuchal cord, gravidity greater than 1, and advanced paternal age at delivery.

Autism has been on the rise in the United States.  It is estimated that one in 150 U.S. children suffer autism.  For a long time, MMR vaccines because of the presence of thimerosal in the vaccines have been suspected to contribute to the elevated risk of the disorder, but later studies disprove the allegation even though undeniably mercury is the vaccine is a powerful neurotoxin.

Autism symptoms can be observed in areas of social interactions and relationship, verbal and nonverbal communication and limited interests in activities or play.  Autism symptoms vary by age.

Nutrition is now known to have something to do with autism, at least some cases of autism. According to Dr. John Cannell, a vitamin D expert and director of Vitamin D Council, vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy can cause a negative impact on fetuses' brain development.

By David Liu

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