Autism rates associated with nutrition and the WIC program

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Will this study have become meaningless when the DSM 5 is imposed? ~

Autism rates associated with nutrition and the WIC program.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22081621>

Shamberger RJ.

J Am Coll Nutr. 2011 Oct;30(5):348-53.

OBJECTIVES: Autism rates in the United States are increasing at a rate

of 15% per year. Autistic children are diagnosed by age 3 when they have

problems communicating and interacting socially. This study uses

nutritional epidemiology and an ecologic study design to link the

possible cause of autism to nutrition by creating autism rates for the

50 states of America and comparing them with published measures of

infant nutrition such as duration of exclusive breast-feeding and

participation in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The

percentage of infants with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)

inoculations was also compared with the autism rates. Study

DESIGN: Autism rates for each state were established. The percentage

of infants who participate in the WIC program for low-income families

was calculated for each of the 50 states as well as 21 New Jersey and 30

Oregon counties and compared with their autism rates. An ecologic study

design with correlation coefficients is limited, but it is useful for

generating hypotheses to be tested.

RESULTS: The states with the highest WIC participation have

significantly lower autism rates (p < 0.02). A similar pattern was

observed in 21 New Jersey counties (p < 0.02) and 30 Oregon counties (p

< 0.05). In contrast, there was a direct correlation with the increasing

percentage of women exclusively breast-feeding from 2000-2004 (p <

0.001). Infants who were solely breast-fed had diets that contained less

thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin D than the minimal daily requirements

(MDR). There was no correlation of MMR inoculations with the autism rate.

CONCLUSION: The mothers who are exclusively breast-feeding should also

continue their prenatal vitamins or their equivalent and make better

dietary choices. These results suggest that autism may be nutritionally

related to a possible deficiency of riboflavin or the cognitive vitamins

such as thiamine or vitamin D. However, due to an ecologic study design

there is a potential for fallacy because individuals were not examined.

The results suggest the need for a robust observational study in advance

of, and to confirm the need for, an intervention study.