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They Say: Older Moms (and Certain Couples) Pose Bigger Autism Risk
A new study linking parental age to autism has found women who gave birth when they were over 40 were two times more likely to have autistic children than women who conceived and gave birth before 25. Fathers over 40 who had significantly younger partners had a pronounced increase in the number of autistic offspring, as well.
The study, published online in the journal Autism Research, looked at 5 million births in California during the 1990s. More than 12,000 of the babies were diagnosed with autism — a large en0ugh sample for further statistical analysis. From these numbers, they concluded the following:
Independent of the father’s age, women over 40 were 77 percent more likely to have a child with autism than women under 25.
The older moms were 51 percent more likely than those 25 to 29 years old.
For men over 40, there was a 59 percent increase in risk of autism if the mother was under 30. But no increased risk if the mother was over 30.
Researchers are quick to say there is not a direct correlation between parental age and autistic children. Instead, the findings offer direction for more research.
In the 1990s, births to California women over the age of 40 grew 300 percent. But the number of children diagnosed with autism grew sevenfold over that same decade.
From the New York Times:
“The rise in autism is occurring among children of parents of all ages,” said Janie F. Shelton, a graduate student in epidemiology at the University of California, Davis, who was the paper’s lead author. “We can’t say that the shifting trend of maternal age is responsible for the increased rates of autism.”
Age is a factor, they’re saying, but not the only one. There has been a rise in autism rates for every age group. And it’s not clear what about age would be contributing to the increased rates.
Meaning what? More study is necessary.
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4 Comments
[...] Certain Couples Pose Bigger Autism Risk [...]
Some Docs Hope to Call Tantrums ‘Mental Disorders’ | Strollerderby commented on Feb 10 10 at 2:01 pm[...] Some of that science has also been published this week, showing a link between advanced maternal age and autism. [...]
Jenny McCarthy Calls Autism Retraction Censorship | Strollerderby commented on Feb 11 10 at 9:17 pmLaure68 commented on Feb 09 10 at 2:31 pmThis actually makes sense. Autism has a genetic component, and advanced parental age does affect the genes of the baby. There was a small study done that indicated that this change in criteria alone should account for a four-fold increase in autism diagnoses. (It was a small study, so this number may not be accurate.) In any case, this change should account for a significant rise, along with increased awareness.
“In the 1990s, births to California women over the age of 40 grew 300 percent. But the number of children diagnosed with autism grew sevenfold over that same decade.” In 1994 the criteria for autism changed, loosening quite a bit.
Sam commented on Aug 20 11 at 9:47 pmWhat we don’t know is if those same mothers, if they had had children at a younger age, would have still had children with autism. Frankly, women with “autistic traits” such as super good math and science skills tend to marry later and thus, have kids later. Also, women who marry older and have children older tend to have better financial stability and access to health care. In contrast, kids in poorer school districts with less affluent parents might only be diagnosed as on the autism spectrum if they have a severe form of the condition, while the richer parents will get their children diagnosed with just a few mild symptoms. The incidence of autism might be more similar between the two group than the incidence of Diagnosis of autism.
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