Premature babies at higher risk of autism: study

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vaccinated at 12 hours of age with Hep B vax even though may only be 26 -

33 weeks gestation

and then again at 2 months with a huge number even though gestational age

is really 1 day

Sheri

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2008/04/03/eline/links/20080403elin011.html

Premature babies at higher risk of autism: study

Last Updated: 2008-04-03 10:01:54 -0400 (Reuters

Health)

By Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - One out of four toddlers born prematurely showed

early signs of autism in a study, and the risk was greatest among those

children who were the smallest at birth, Canadian researchers said on

Wednesday.

Premature birth and low birth weight have been recognized in earlier

studies as risk factors for a number of developmental problems, including

autism and other illnesses.

But the study of 91 children, who were born around between 7 and 14 weeks

prematurely and weighed 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) or less at birth, was the

first to directly assess the risk of autism in this population, the

researchers wrote in the journal Pediatrics.

The initial screening test performed at around 21 months of age found

suspected autism in 23 of the 91 children. The risk was greatest among

those children who were the smallest at birth, and those born to mothers

who suffered a prenatal infection or bleeding, Limperopoulos of

McGill University said in a telephone interview.

" Early autistic behaviors seem to be an under-recognized feature of

very low birth-weight infants, " she wrote.

She added that the screening was preliminary, and definitive diagnosis

would come in a follow-up study.

Autism or related disorders such as Asperger's syndrome strike one out of

150 U.S. children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

has estimated. The condition can have relatively mild symptoms or can

severely disable a child by interfering with speech and

behavior.

Higher rates of autism in recent years have been attributed to various

causes, including improved diagnoses. Other studies have found genetic

and other links to the condition, which many experts suspect may have

several different causes.

Some activists believe childhood vaccines can trigger autism, though

medical experts say they can find no such link.

IMPROVED SURVIVAL RATES

Medical advances have greatly improved survival rates of premature and

low birth-weight babies. But Limperopoulos and another expert said the

study's findings did not mean the greater number of surviving premature

babies was causing the increase in autism rates.

" I think this is not the answer to the increased rate of autism in

our country, (though) it may well represent a small part of that

increase. This is a more important finding for the world of prematurity

than for the world of autism, " said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical

director of the March of Dimes, a U.S. advocacy group that works to

prevent premature births and birth defects.

The report said the findings do " support comprehensive screening for

social and behavioral dysfunction in ex-preterm infants. "

In a separate study in the journal, researchers at the University of

Rochester in New York found families with an autistic child often faced

financial hardship.

Besides having to pay more out-of-pocket for medical care and education,

parents of the 131 children in the study with autism spectrum disorders

lost an average of $6,200 from their expected annual income, or 14

percent.

Some parents opted for part-time work, because of limited community

resources to help care for their children, the study concluded.

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Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian

Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales

UK

Vaccines -

http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start April 18