In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: ‘Study links child’s autism, parents’ mental illness’
Background: Studies finding family genetics linked to autism
Opinion & Analysis: Implications of the study, Autism’s emotional impact on parents
Related Topics: Nonvaccination linked to resurgence of childhood illnesses
Reference: findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Autism; latest research and resources from NIMH
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Study Links Children’s Autism to Parents’ Mental Health
by
findingDulcinea Staff
by Josh Katz
Parents with mental illnesses are almost twice as likely to have an autistic child as those without mental disorders, suggesting that genetics contribute to autism.
Parents with mental illnesses are almost twice as likely to have an autistic child as those without mental disorders, suggesting that genetics contribute to autism.
30-Second Summary
The new study showed an especially high risk factor for mothers and fathers diagnosed with schizophrenia, for whom the chances of having a child with autism doubled.
“The link between parental disorders and a child’s autism was present regardless of whether the parent was diagnosed before or after the child,” the Wall Street Journal Health Blog reported, “suggesting the association may be genetic, not a matter of a parent getting depressed over a child’s diagnosis.”
Researchers also found that mothers of autistic children were more likely to have depression and personality disorders than were the fathers.
In the study, researchers from the University of North Carolina and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden analyzed health records of 1,327 autistic children born between 1977 and 2003, along with those of the children’s parents, then compared the data with information from 31,000 nonautistic children.
About 1 in every 150 U.S. children is autistic. A growing number of researchers believe that both genes and environmental factors contribute to autism, according to Reuters.
A 2007 study also suggested a genetic basis for autism, finding that “siblings of children with the disorder are at high risk for some of the same social functioning deficits as their brothers or sisters.”
Another theory links childhood vaccinations to higher rates of autism, leading some parents to forego standard immunizations for their children. But many public health officials say vaccines are safe, and withholding them has contributed to a resurgence of preventable illnesses like measles, mumps and pertussis.
“The link between parental disorders and a child’s autism was present regardless of whether the parent was diagnosed before or after the child,” the Wall Street Journal Health Blog reported, “suggesting the association may be genetic, not a matter of a parent getting depressed over a child’s diagnosis.”
Researchers also found that mothers of autistic children were more likely to have depression and personality disorders than were the fathers.
In the study, researchers from the University of North Carolina and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden analyzed health records of 1,327 autistic children born between 1977 and 2003, along with those of the children’s parents, then compared the data with information from 31,000 nonautistic children.
About 1 in every 150 U.S. children is autistic. A growing number of researchers believe that both genes and environmental factors contribute to autism, according to Reuters.
A 2007 study also suggested a genetic basis for autism, finding that “siblings of children with the disorder are at high risk for some of the same social functioning deficits as their brothers or sisters.”
Another theory links childhood vaccinations to higher rates of autism, leading some parents to forego standard immunizations for their children. But many public health officials say vaccines are safe, and withholding them has contributed to a resurgence of preventable illnesses like measles, mumps and pertussis.
Headline Link: ‘Study links child’s autism, parents’ mental illness’
Julie Daniels of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill said, “Our research shows that mothers and fathers diagnosed with schizophrenia were about twice as likely to have a child diagnosed with autism.” Daniels also said, “Establishing an association between autism and other psychiatric disorders might enable future investigators to better focus on genetic and environmental factors that might be shared among these disorders.”
Source: Reuters
The full text of the study can be found on the Web site of the journal Pediatrics.
Source: Pediatrics
Background: Studies finding family genetics linked to autism
In 2001, a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry found “significant associations between the presence of panic disorder and major depression on parents and patterns of dysfunction in their children,” according to Science Daily.
Source: Science Daily
A May 2007 article from WebMD Medical News reported on a study indicating that “Toddler siblings of autistic children are more likely to exhibit some of the same atypical social behaviors as their brothers and sisters with autism, even when they don’t go on to develop the disorder.”
Source: MedicineNet
Opinion & Analysis: Implications of the study, Autism’s emotional impact on parents
In The Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Elizabeth Bernstein says, “Because the study looked only at children and parents who had received a diagnosis during a hospitalization, and so had pretty severe cases of their disorders, the results may not be easily generalized. But the findings do support the theory that there’s a familial predisposition for autism.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
A May 4, 2008 article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer describes how the parents of autistic children face substantial amounts of stress, a factor the writers say is often ignored when examining the disorder. “University of Washington researchers found these parents, among all of those with disabled children, suffer the highest levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, and parenting stress.”
Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer
Related Topics: Nonvaccination linked to resurgence of childhood illnesses
More than 70 cases of measles, a potentially deadly illness, have been confirmed in the United States, after public health officials had claimed the disease was eliminated in 2000. One of the possible causes is that some parents do not want to get their children vaccinated for measles, fearing the vaccinations can cause autism, reports findingDulcinea.
Source: findingDulcinea
Measles isn’t the only preventable childhood disease rearing its head. Public health officials have reported outbreaks of mumps and pertussis in pockets around the country. Both conditions can be prevented with vaccines.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Autism; latest research and resources from NIMH
Read more about autism and other pervasive developmental disorders, how they are treated, and how families can cope in findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to Autism.
Source: findingDulcinea
The National Institute of Mental Health’s Web site on Autism Spectrum Disorders includes information on diagnosis, treatment, current research and advocacy for children and adults with autism or its milder form, Asperger’s syndrome, both of which are “more often referred to today as autism spectrum disorders (ASD).” All these disorders “are characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior,” says NIMH. A guide is available online as a PDF document or can be ordered from NIMH.
Source: The National Institute of Mental Health
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