SchaferAutismReport: Autism Link To Firstborn of Older Parents

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Monday, October 27, 2008p Reader Supported In This Issue: • RESEARCHAutism Link To Firstborn of Older Parents • TREATMENTFresh Hopes and Concerns As

Fetal DNA Tests Advance • • • • • CAREWashington Voters To Consider Care Worker TrainingPEOPLEHacker 'Too Sick' for US ExtraditionMEDIAHope for the Autism Spectrum10 Myths About Autism COMMENTARYEnd of the Innocence: McCain, Obama and Vaccines. Oh My!LETTERS Send your LETTER The Autism Calendar or here: tinyurl.com/283dpa DO SOMETHING ABOUT AUTISM NOW SUBSCRIBE. . . ! . . . Read, then Forward the Schafer Autism Report.$35 for 1 year - 200 issues, or No Cost Review Sub.www.sarnet.org the Autism Calendartm hereHundreds of Local Autism Events Political Discussion Forum Heats Up As Vaccine Link To Autism Question SpreadsAn email discussion list has been

created in response to the growing interest in the environmental causes of autism -- now almost 2,300 subscribers. Here is where to join: (Sponsored by the Schafer Autism Report) SAR Back Issues AUTISM IS TREATABLE Check here Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription readers. - THANK YOU - RESEARCHAutism Link To Firstborn of Older Parents By Liz Longden, UK. bit.ly/GYRmO Firstborn children of older parents have three times as much chance of being diagnosed with autism than later born children of younger parents, new research has revealed. A study of 240,000 teenagers carried out by researchers in the US has found a strong link between the likelihood of developing the condition and a higher age of

parents. Mothers aged 35 and over were cited as having a 30% higher risk of having an autistic child than mothers in their twenties, while for fathers in their forties and over the risk was estimated to be even greater at around 40% higher when compared with fathers aged under 30. The study also suggested that later born children were less likely to be afflicted with autistic disorders than firstborn offspring. The research team behind the study has claimed their work provides "the most compelling evidence to date that autism risk increases with both maternal and paternal age, and decreases with birth order". The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, has

been hailed as a possible explanation for the apparent increase in incidence of the condition in the western world, where social trends mean increasing numbers of couples put off having children until later in life, and tend to opt for smaller families – meaning a higher proportion of babies are firstborn or only children. There is no clue to suggest why parental age should increase the risk of a child being autistic, but the authors suggest the sperm of older fathers could be more likely to pass on genetic mutations, while older mothers might be more susceptible to chromosome alterations. Another theory suggests that older parents may be more likely to spot developmental difficulties in their children, and therefore more likely to seek help and a formal diagnosis. Firstborn children are also more prone to suffer from other childhood disorders, including type I diabetes. One theory to explain the phenomenon is the "hygiene hypothesis", which suggests that first-time parents are more protective and expose their children to fewer infections in early childhood, making them likely to develop autoimmune diseases.For rest of today's SAR click here:www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.htm Today's SAR is provided through the support of paid subscription readers. - THANK YOU - $35 for 1 year - or free!www.sarnet.org Copyright Notice: The above items are copyright protected. They are for our readers' personal education or research purposes only and provided at their request. Articles may not be further reprinted or used commercially without consent from the copyright holders. To find the copyright holders, follow the referenced website link provided at the beginning of each item. Lenny Schafer editor@... The Schafer Autism Report is a non-profit corporation Vol. 12 No. 154p Unsubscribe here: www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm _______________________________________________SARnets mailing listSARnets@...http://lists.igc.org/mailman/listinfo/sarnetsYou can unsubscribe send email:http://www.sarnet.org/frm/unsub2.htm-- You are subscribed as: deniseslist@...