Thursday, March 28, 2024

What Increases The Risk Of Autism

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Increase: Going The Natural Route

Severe infection during pregnancy increases risk of having autistic child: Study

Some mamas live what they call a natural life style. Many people live a homeopathic lifestyle. Those who live this way have strong justification for their decisions, but some do not know that it can actually be pretty risky to the baby. There are many different brands and types of natural medications that can cause many issues for baby. There have been links to some natural medicines and autism for unborn babies. Women with too much of certain types of vitamins increase their risk of having a child diagnosed with autism. Some women take extra vitamins or try out certain supplements and herbs during pregnancy. Although it all sounds good because it is thought to be healthier than the more popular options, there are also risks.

Several Biological Pathways Identified

Individuals with ASD vary in language ability, ranging from absent speech to fluent language, and in cognitive development, ranging from profound intellectual disability to above-average intellectual functioning. Individuals may also show associated medical comorbidities including epilepsy and minor physical anomalies, as well as psychiatric comorbidities, thus showing a wide clinical heterogeneity. The clinical heterogeneity of autism has long been a hindrance to understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms involved. However, although many questions remain and new questions are being raised, the last several years of investigation have brought important pieces to the autism puzzle. Indeed, the identification of specific alleles contributing to ASD has shed light on pathogenic mechanisms.

Going back to an individual approach, already used in mental retardation, the search for rare mutations or chromosomal rearrangements was then used, allowing new hypotheses about the mechanisms involved in autism. While the existence of many genetic syndromes associated with autism first led to considering the existence of genetic heterogeneity mirroring the clinical variability, genetic studies in idiopathic autism confirmed the existence of different defects in common pathways. The results suggest that autism may be caused by a multitude of genetic alterations that ultimately affect only limited biological pathways of brain development and plasticity.

Decrease: Beware Of Chemicals

Maternal exposure to certain chemicals during pregnancy seems to increase the risk for ASD. A way mama can eliminate the risk is to avoid certain chemicals. Limiting the intake of processed/prepackaged/ and canned foods, avoiding water bottles made of plastic or aluminum, and steering clear of personal care products that contain fragrance as an ingredient may be beneficial. Avoiding or limiting use of certain household cleaning products and weed killers absolutely cannot hurt as well. Of course, it is impossible to avoid every chemical. There needs to be much further research done on additional chemicals and the correlation to autism, but to be safe, avoiding as much as you can cannot hurt. Avoiding toxic chemicals can be very helpful in the mission to avoid autism.

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There Is No Scientific Evidence That Vaccines Cause Autism

A much-talked-about report from the 1990s claimed there may be a link between certain vaccinations given during infancy and autism. Those claims have since been debunked by subsequent studies and the evidence behind those earlier claims has been found to be unreliable.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has compiled a list of dozens of studies that have found there is NO connection between childhood vaccines and autism. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the same.

Veenstra-Vanderweele says that this train of thought is dangerous. Vaccinate your children. He says there is no scientific evidence that pinpoints vaccinations as a cause of autism.

Indirect Evidence Suggesting A Contribution Of Environmental Factors

MMR Vaccine Does Not Cause Or Increase Risk Of Autism ...

Prevalence

Prevalence studies of autism spectrum disorders conducted in recent years have been the source of an important debate because of a steady and highly significant increase of estimates of the total prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders. Indeed, while the prevalence was estimated at 6 per 1000 in a population of school children in 2005, recent studies have gone so far as to estimate the prevalence to be one child in 38.The last prevalence estimates in the United States, released by the Centers for Disease Control recently, reached 1 in 88 child in 2008, while their previous estimate was one in 110 in 2006. However, most of the studies are not comparable in method or in the populations studied. One hypothesis is that this increase is the result of enlargement of diagnostic criteria, and the growing importance of screening for ASDs. The results of an epidemiological study from England, based on a national sample from 2007, support this hypothesis. Indeed the authors found a rate of about 1% in adults across the entire age range, without a significant reduction in the older part of the sample, as one would expect if the prevalence had increased in recent years. However, another study suggested that diagnostic substitution, especially for the most severe cases, and better ascertainment, especially for children at the less severe end of the spectrum, explain only a part of the linear increase observed in the California registry.

Immune dysfunction

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How Does Autism Affect Kids

Autistic children may not reach the same developmental milestones as their peers, or they may demonstrate the loss of previously developed social or language skills.

For instance, a 2-year-old without autism may show interest in simple games of make-believe. A 4-year-old without autism may enjoy engaging in activities with other children. An autistic child may have trouble interacting with others or dislike it altogether.

Autistic children may also engage in repetitive behaviors, have difficulty sleeping, or compulsively eat nonfood items. They may find it hard to thrive without a structured environment or consistent routine.

If your child is autistic, you may have to work closely with their teachers to ensure they succeed in the classroom.

Many resources are available to help autistic children as well as their loved ones. Local support groups can be found through the national nonprofit The Autism Society of America.

New Technology Reveals New Gene Ties To Autism

Study authors, led by Amy B. Wilfert, Ph.D. from the University of Washington, say new technology and dropping costs on genetic research has allowed them to gather information of thousands of genes from people with autism and their relatives. Researchers analyzed nearly 11,000 people with autism to identify the new mutations which pass from healthy parents to children on the autism spectrum.

The team notes most autism genes discovered to date come from research on de novo mutations. These are genetic variations which first develop in a person with autism and are not present in their parents genes at all. The new findings reveal that rare inherited variants which lead to autism are likely in a different batch of genes from the ones de novo mutations affect.

While most autism studies focus on de novo mutations, this study focuses on rare inherited mutations, which are often understudied in autism, says Dr. Wilfert in a media release. We find that these variants are individually less damaging than de novo mutations but have the potential to contribute almost as much risk and impact the same molecular pathways, through a distinct set of genes. These variants, however, are only able to persist in the general population for a few generations before being selected out by evolution.

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Decrease: Eat Only The Good

While pregnant, everything a mama puts into her body impacts the baby. Eating healthy can benefit baby on so many levels as well as prevent many issues. To decrease the chance of having a child with autism, mama can consume more linoleic acid found in vegetable oils, seed and nuts which reduces the autism risk by 34%. Those who consume low levels of omega 3 fatty acids are more likely by 53% to give birth to an autistic child. Eating healthy is beneficial for baby and mom on so many levels. It can be easier to reach for a pop tart in the morning instead of an egg and spinach omelet, but the consequences just are not worth it. Eating healthier can reduce the risk of autism, remember- fueling the body with the good stuff during pregnancy can be a game changer. Maybe spinach is not your favorite, but throwing it into a smoothie with bananas and oranges could make it bearable!

Increase: The Baby Comes Too Early

Severe infection during pregnancy increases risk of having autistic child: Study

It is hard to know for sure what will happen in utero and that can be really scary. It is believed that women who have birth complications that result in extreme prematurity and/or low birth weight can be putting their baby at risk for autism. It is also believed that multiple pregnancies can be a risk factor for autism as well. There are certain risk factors that affect the maternal fetal environment that may place that fetus at increased risk of ASD. There are some things that are just out of our control, and unfortunately you can be the healthiest person and still have a baby with a low birth weight or be pregnant with twins

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Autisms Genetic Risk Factors

Research tells us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in certain genes increase the risk that a child will develop autism. If a parent carries one or more of these gene changes, they may get passed to a child . Other times, these genetic changes arise spontaneously in an early embryo or the sperm and/or egg that combine to create the embryo. Again, the majority of these gene changes do not cause autism by themselves. They simply increase risk for the disorder

Risk Factors For Autism

  • Being Male: Males are four times more likely to be autistic than females the reason for this has not been determined.
  • Coming From a Family With Autistic Members: Autism does seem to run in families, but it is not contagious. Twins are more likely than other relatives to share autism, and identical twins are extremely likely to share autism .
  • Having Older Parents: According to multiple studies, older parents are more likely to have autistic children than younger parents. The reasons for this, however, are not clear. Could the issue be biological? Or could it be that older parents are older because they had a tougher time finding a matebecause they have shadow symptoms of autism?
  • Being Exposed to Specific Drugs in Utero: Certain drugs, specifically Valproate and thalidomide, when taken by a pregnant mother, seem to raise the likelihood of autism.
  • Being Born Early and/or at a Low Weight: There are many reasons why a child might be born prematurely they include maternal issues ranging from malnutrition and injury to gestational diabetes. These issues can cause a wide range of problems, and autism is one of them.
  • Spontaneous Mutation: Mutation happens. All the time. Researchers are finding that many people with autism do, in fact, have mutations in their DNA, but these are not clearly linked to any particular pattern or cause.
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    Different Types Of Prenatal Stressors Can Affect Postnatal Development

    One important discovery is that effects of prenatal stress on postnatal behavior are found for many different species and types of stress. Significant effects of prenatal stress have been found in a variety of mammalian species, including rodents and non-human primates, as well as in humans. Moreover, in studies of both humans and animals, many different types of prenatal stressors were found to have significant effects on postnatal behavior. , for example, noted that procedures used to induce stress in pregnant rats have included saline injections, physical restraint, exposure to loud noises, foot-shocks, overcrowding, and immersion in cold water. The effects of exposure to prenatal stress on postnatal behavior have also been produced by exposing pregnant monkeys and rodents to stress hormones such as glucocorticoids . In the offspring of these pregnant animals, significant changes have been found in both behavior and regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, regardless of the specific prenatal stressor used.

    What Doesnt Cause Autism

    Infections During Pregnancy Increase Risk of Autism and ...

    Bad parenting

    There was a bleak period in history from the 1950s to 1970s when autism was believed to be a psychological disorder, and blamed on cold, uncaring parents, usually the mothers.

    Fortunately, the myth of the ârefrigerator motherâ has been debunked by science, and autism is now recognised as a disorder of brain development with genetic links. Nothing you said or did as a parent caused your child to develop autism, so please donât listen to anyone who suggests otherwise.

    Vaccines

    Scores of scientific studies have effectively ruled out vaccines as a cause of autism. Concerns originally arose around two issues of Mercury and the MMR Vaccine

    In 2014, a meta-analysis, combining the result of 10 studies and over 1.2 million children, found no link between vaccines and autism. The World Health Organization, the European Medicines Agency, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading international health groups have also concluded thereâs no link. Unfortunately, the belief persists among anti-vaccination campaigners, who are very vocal on the Internet. If you remain concerned about vaccines, arrange a time to talk your paediatrician or GP. Remember, Vaccines Save Lives!

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    Autism Significantly Increases Risk For Self

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    Children and adults with autism spectrum disorder had significantly increased risk for self-harm and suicidality, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open.

    Among the myriad potential health problems for people with ASD is the excess risk of injury morbidity and mortality,Ashley Blanchard, MD, MS, of the department of emergency medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and colleagues wrote. Several epidemiologic studies using emergency department visit data have shown that children with ASD are at an elevated risk for injuries. Epidemiologic evidence has also indicated that people with ASD are at a heightened risk of injury mortality, with a risk of premature death that is two- to 10-fold higher than in the general population.

    The researchers calculated the ORs for the associations of ASD with self-injurious behavior and suicidality and stratified analyses by study setting and age groups as planned a priori. Overall, they identified 31 eligible studies of moderate to high quality, of which 16 were conducted among children, 13 among adults and two among both children and adults.

    Hypersensitivity To Stress: An Important Vulnerability To Ad

    The effect of prenatal stress on postnatal HPA-axis reactivity and sensitivity to stress is especially interesting, for two reasons. First, several studies have reported that hypersensitivity to stress is associated with AD. For example, found that AD children were more likely than control children to show HPA-axis hyperactivity in response to novel stimuli. This study examined changes in salivary cortisol and found that AD children showed elevations in cortisol following exposure to a novel non-social situation, whereas control children did not . found a tendency in children with high-functioning autism toward cortisol hypersecretion during the daytime hours. This effect was principally found in those children who were integrated into the normal school system, which the authors suggested indicates that the elevated cortisol secretion was a response to environmental stress.

    Second, based on clinical work with AD children, has hypothesized that hypersensitivity in infants may be a crucial predisposing factor that causally contributes to the development of AD. Zelazo has proposed a developmental model of AD in which low stress tolerance in a young child leads to abnormal patterns of social avoidance and behavioral noncompliance, patterns which in turn disrupt child-caretaker interactions that are necessary for acquisition of social and language skills.

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    How To Think About The Risk Of Autism

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    A STUDY published last week found that the brains of autistic children show abnormalities that are likely to have arisen before birth, which is consistent with a large body of previous evidence. Yet most media coverage focuses on vaccines, which do not cause autism and are given after birth. How can we help people separate real risks from false rumors?

    Over the last few years, weve seen an explosion of studies linking autism to a wide variety of genetic and environmental factors. Putting these studies in perspective is an enormous challenge. In a database search of more than 34,000 scientific publications mentioning autism since its first description in 1943, over half have come since 2008.

    As a statistically minded neuroscientist, I suggest a different approach that relies on a concept we are familiar with: relative odds. As a single common measuring stick to compare odds, I have chosen the risk ratio, a measure that allows the bigger picture to come into focus.

    One might argue that any added risk is too much. But it is essential to put risk into perspective. The early research in the 1950s that first linked smoking with lung cancer gave a risk ratio around 25 for a pack-a-day smoker. In the case of autism, the risk associated with parental age is dwarfed by the impact of inheritance.

    Possible Mechanisms Behind The Association Between Environmental Risk Factors And Asd

    Air pollution linked with increased risk of autism in children

    A fundamental question about the association between environmental risk factors and ASD is whether the association represents an underlying causality or not. Although evidence in this area is still speculative, here, we briefly review the possible mechanisms of involvement of environmental factors in ASD. It should be emphasized that the mechanisms reviewed here are by no means exhaustive. Furthermore, each environmental factorif causalmight involve multiple mechanisms and at different levels of etiological pathways to ASD.

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