Study links birth spacing, autism risk

[one...two...tree 2,762]

CHICAGO - Close birth spacing may put a second-born child at higher risk for autism, suggests a preliminary study based on more than a half-million California children.

Children born less than two years after their siblings were considerably more likely to have an autism diagnosis compared with those born after at least three years.

The sooner the second child was conceived, the greater the likelihood of that child later being diagnosed with autism. The effect was found for parents of all ages, decreasing the chance that it was older parents and not the birth spacing behind the higher risk.

"That was pretty shocking to us, to be honest," said senior author Peter Bearman of Columbia University in New York. "No matter what we did, whether we were looking at autism severity, looking at age, or looking at all the various dimensions we could think of, we couldn't get rid of this finding."

Still, he said more studies are needed to confirm the birth-spacing link.

Closely spaced births are increasing in the U.S. because women are delaying childbirth and because of unplanned pregnancies. Government data show the number of closely spaced births - in which babies are less than two years apart - is rising, from 11 percent of all births in 1995 to 18 percent in 2002.

The study appears today in the journal Pediatrics.

Reasons behind the birth spacing/autism link aren't clear. It could be that parents are more likely to notice developmental problems when siblings are very close in age, Bearman said.

Or biological factors could be at play, he said. Pregnancy depletes a mother's nutrients like folate, a B vitamin found in leafy green vegetables.

"And it could be a combination of effects, not a single explanation but a combination of dynamics," Bearman said.

The researchers looked at births from 1992 through 2002. The information on autism diagnoses came from California's Department of Developmental Services.

The overall prevalence of autism was less than 1 percent in the study. Of the 662,730 second-born children in the analysis, 3,137 had an autism diagnosis. Of the 156,034 children conceived less than a year after the birth of their older siblings, 1,188 had an autism diagnosis - a higher rate, but still less than 1 percent.

Read more: http://www.azcentral...l#ixzz1AhNPG7Mx

[^_^ 5,021]

I know a bunch of autistic kids who are first borns. I suppose they too could have suffered from not enough folate in utero.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

interesting read

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I know a bunch of autistic kids who are first borns. I suppose they too could have suffered from not enough folate in utero.

You should write your findings to the researchers so they can make the necessary fixes to their flawed research.

[^_^ 5,021]

You should write your findings to the researchers so they can make the necessary fixes to their flawed research.

Well, aren't you an irritable little tampon.

[Jenn! 918]

Well, aren't you an irritable little tampon.

It's an interesting finding though.

[Calypso 464]

One of my professors in developmental psychology ages ago said that the ideal birth gap between kids is five years. That's beneficial to the children as well as the mother.