Autism Risk Higher With Closely-Spaced Pregnancies
Filed under: Medical Conditions, Research Reveals
The timing of pregnancies could affect autism odds. Credit: Getty Images
More fuel to throw on the burning autism debate: A new study says how closely together children are born may play a role.Second children who are conceived within a year of their older sibling's birth were more than three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those conceived more than three years after their older sibling was born, according to an article in the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers looked at records of babies born in California between 1992 and 2002 and examined the odds of autism in more than 660,000 second children. They found that the further apart pregnancies were, the lower the risk of autism in the second child, the article says. Compared to children conceived more than three years after their older sibling's birth, children conceived 12 to 23 months after a previous birth were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with autism, and children conceived after a 24- to 35-month gap were one and a quarter times more likely to have been given that diagnosis.
The study's authors don't know why pregnancy timing and autism are linked, but they suggested some factors that may be to blame, although they didn't test for them. Some of the possible culprits are depleted levels of nutrients, such as folate and iron, and higher stress levels, the article says. The results accounted for low birth weight, premature births and the age of the parents, the article says.
The finding is particularly important because the number of babies born within two years of their older sibling is on the rise, up from 11 percent in 1992 to 18 percent in 2002, the authors write.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 4)
1-10-2011 @ 8:09AM
sheila said...I feel this is BS too...I had my first child (a boy) and he was diagnosed with autism at the age of 6, 1 year later I had my second child (a son) and he does not have autism...he is totally oppisite, he is a very intellegent boy in gifted classes at thier school and has an IQ of an 1th grade child (he is only 10 years old). So as far as the timing of births and the link to autism...BS!!
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1-10-2011 @ 7:45PM
Debra said...My grandchildren are 3 years apart. There are 3 boys and the middle child is the one with autism. He was developing well until he became 2 then we noticed a difference in his language development. He is 5 now and is making progress, with alot of schooling.
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1-10-2011 @ 3:06PM
CMCCLURE said...Instead of calling the study "bull" because of your personal experience, thank your lucky stars that your children are all "fine." Many parents, like myself, struggle every with our children who aren't.
While I wish there were more concrete honest information in regards to the causes of autism, any information is helpful. I think part of the reason more children have autism nowadays is that they are more children being properly diagnosed instead of them being labeled strictly ADD/ADHD or mentally retarded.
And I am sure there are a lot of other causes. But unless you are a doctor, one who studies this specifically, I'd rather not hear your blame game on vaccines or processed foods or whatever else.
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1-10-2011 @ 9:02AM
BONNIE said...Both my grandchildren are autistic and born 4 yrs apart so this does not prove to me that second children, if born close to their older siblings, have a better chance of being autistic.
1-10-2011 @ 8:42AM
brandy said...Thank you for saying that CMCCLURE, my youngest son has autism and he was concieved within 7 months after I gave birth to my twin girls. I have no idea if there is anything to this study or any other study about autism, but as a parent of an autistic child I am just glad there are people researching and trying to find out why and hopefully what can one day help these kids.
1-10-2011 @ 2:42PM
Jill said...How was your child diagnoised and by whom? Have you read the defination of autism? Too many things are lumped into this diagnosis. While there have been some small advances, mostly nothing has changed because now autism has everything one can imagine. I would rather have my child diagnoised with some of the others that they will mostly outgrow. Too many symptoms are pushed into this and this is why more kids are called autistic than ever before.
1-10-2011 @ 3:27PM
cmcclure said...My son was two years old when he was diagnosed. He was completely non verbal at the time. He was diagnosed by my local intermediate school district professionals, the Chief Pediatric Neurologist at Children's Hospital in Detroit, a Neurologist from University of Michigan Hospital, and several pediatric psychiatrists. I have been battling for the last four years since we were made aware of his diagnosis, for answers and therapies to help my amazing son. Autism is a very broad disability. My son is almost 6 years old, and can only say a few words. However he can put puzzles together like a champ and is incredibly affectionate and lovable. Some autistic children have no problems speaking, they have overactive minds or may be aggressive or have sensory issues. I wish I knew what caused my son to be born with autism, but all I can do is keep researching, keep fighting for answers and help for him and his peers, and try and be the best parent I can be. I keep my mind open to all possibilities as answers for this terrible disability.
1-10-2011 @ 8:33AM
tim said...That is such nonense. Our second child was born 5 years after our first and he was a perfectly healthy child until he got the MMR shot. After he had the MMR shot he lost all his verbal skills and was diagnosed with Autism. He is six years old now and started talking again when he was five after extensive speech therapy and attending a school for children with Autism at Binghamton University. Our third chld was born 4 1/2 years after the second. He has not had any shots as our Autism specialist recomended and he is a perfectly healthy developing child with absolutely no signs of Autism. No amount of studies will ever change our minds about the vaccines being being the cause of Autism and the government will never admit to it because the lawsuits will be bigger than any national deficit.
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1-10-2011 @ 10:47AM
Sabrina said...Um Tim, If the vaccines are 100% to blame then why is your first child fine...That is the whole reason the shots are not the sole cause of autism...Millions of children get the shots with no adverse reaction..so to say that the shots are the only cause of autism while blindly rejecting any other option is rather uneducated and ignorant.
1-10-2011 @ 10:37AM
SGB said...Are you crazy? I have a sister 1 year older and another sister 1 year younger. None of us are autistic!
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1-10-2011 @ 8:45AM
kirra Grey said...I call BS here too..When I was young, there were many sets of "Irish" twins(I know, I know, not PC) in school with me andI don't remember any of them showing signs of autisum. They say it has increased in the last 20years but the birth rates are down and the time between children is up. Nine to twelve months apart use to be fairly common but of the people I know today, only one couple has children so close together.
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1-10-2011 @ 8:43AM
Mrs. Jackson said...Cut the crap and let us know when the whole truth is ready to be divulged. In case you haven't noticed, women have been having "stair steppers" since forever.
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1-10-2011 @ 8:45AM
susan said...i know of many autistic children who are the first born children....i dont think it has to do with birth timing at all..... i think we ae seeing more of this because we understand more of the symptoms i truly feel this is something enviromental.....
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1-10-2011 @ 8:57AM
Elaine said...Oh, please, and did our tax payer dollars pay for the research, I sure hope not. Any half educated person knows this theary would not cause autism it is only a coralation. As Linda has stated that autism has risen 600% in the past 20 years - so, HELLO, researchers - to find the cause we must look at what has changed! Enviroment, meds, vaccines, food etc.
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1-10-2011 @ 2:41PM
Jim said...It has raised 600 percent because every behavior is now being called austic and many parents today should not be having kids as they have no idea how to take care of them or handle them when they are causing trouble and having tempertantrums. Look around you. I also think it is bunk about 2nd and later kids. Most of the kids I know are all first born. Take them off the meds and become parents. Stop making excuses for you and your kids. Learn to be a parent. There is bad behavior everywhere, Just check it out when you go shopping, kids running around and screeming until they reduce their parents into buying them what they want. The kids are in control more than the parents. Parents unite and learn to be a parent or get clipped and snipped.
1-10-2011 @ 9:03AM
New York said...My two grandchildren were born within one year of each other and the oldest is on the autism spectrum, while the second is perfectly fine. I think instead of throwing guesses & ideas out there they put some money towards research towards the cause. When my children were born in the late 60's & 70's no one ever heard of autism. It was in the 80's & 90's & the present that it has become somewhat of an epidemic with one in 10 afflicted with some form of autism. This is crazy. I hope the medical community starts taking this as serious as it is becoming. These children are our future & we need & deserve to know what is causing our children harm.
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1-10-2011 @ 9:09AM
Wendy said...This just isn't true, My first child has Asperger's. I had another child 2 years after that he is fine, and another child 1 year after him, she is fine. Now I had another child 8 years later and she has been considered border line autistic. So NO this is crap... Keep trying to figure it out that just isn't the cause.
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1-10-2011 @ 9:09AM
Sephanie said...Autisim is what it is....it's not caused by vaccines (that alone has been disproven and the stuipid doctor lost his licence) and who know's what real research was done in this study. I am on the verge of finding out if my son, 2 1/2, has some mild form of it..and if he does...well he does. Nothing I did or didn't do is to blame. It just happens.
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1-10-2011 @ 9:09AM
arterrainc said...No way! The increased cause of Autism is bio-accumulation of pesticides! All pesticides are neuro-toxins - that means they affect the brain. Look at increased Autism, ADD, ADHD, Alzheimer's - hello?! Stop using pesticides and use natural, green products. Google 'all natural, green pest control' and choose what is safe for your family and the environment! I now use Greenbug which works great but even better - it is completely safe because it is natural - not a synthetic toxin like pesticides.
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1-10-2011 @ 9:09AM
New York said...My grandson did not receive the shots & he is autistic. Children that haven't received those shots are still being diagnosed as autistic. It must be something else. Can't keep blaming the shots if they weren't administered.
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