Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.p...st_item&id=596

"Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses", Reuters, February 7, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7560399

Expectant mothers suffering from asthma, allergies or a type of skin
disease have a higher risk of giving birth to an autistic child, a
study said on Monday.

Asthma, allergies and psoriasis symptoms during pregnancy -- especially
if diagnosed in the second trimester -- doubled the risk of autism in
children compared to children who were not afflicted, researchers from
Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, said.

Autism is a mysterious condition that strikes roughly six in 1,000
children, mostly boys, and is associated with diminished social skills
and an adherence to routines.

The study looked at 88,000 children belonging to the Kaiser Permanente
health plan born in Northern California between 1995 and mid-1999, 420
of whom were diagnosed with autism.

The researchers said there was no statistical link between autism in
children and 44 autoimmune diseases in mothers, including rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis. The exception was psoriasis,
which doubled the risk of autism.

Previous research has suggested there may be a link between autoimmune
disease during pregnancy and autism, because autistic children often
have high levels of autoimmune response chemicals in their
bloodstreams. Women make up 78 percent of patients with autoimmune
diseases, where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.

The report, which was published in The Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine, speculated that there may be a common underlying
genetic cause to such ailments as asthma and autism.

Or, because the mother's condition was frequently diagnosed in the
second trimester, the flare-up may have caused her immune system to
produce more cytokines, which are associated with inflammation and
could have damaged fetal brain development.

Roman Bystrianyk wrote:

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.p...st_item&id=596

"Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses", Reuters, February 7,
2005,
Link:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7560399

Expectant mothers suffering from asthma, allergies or a type of skin
disease have a higher risk of giving birth to an autistic child, a
study said on Monday.

Asthma, allergies and psoriasis symptoms during pregnancy --
especially
if diagnosed in the second trimester -- doubled the risk of autism in
children compared to children who were not afflicted, researchers
from
Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, said.

Autism is a mysterious condition that strikes roughly six in 1,000
children, mostly boys, and is associated with diminished social
skills
and an adherence to routines.

The study looked at 88,000 children belonging to the Kaiser
Permanente
health plan born in Northern California between 1995 and mid-1999,
420
of whom were diagnosed with autism.

The researchers said there was no statistical link between autism in
children and 44 autoimmune diseases in mothers, including rheumatoid
arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis. The exception was psoriasis,
which doubled the risk of autism.

Previous research has suggested there may be a link between
autoimmune
disease during pregnancy and autism, because autistic children often
have high levels of autoimmune response chemicals in their
bloodstreams. Women make up 78 percent of patients with autoimmune
diseases, where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.

The report, which was published in The Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine, speculated that there may be a common underlying
genetic cause to such ailments as asthma and autism.

Or, because the mother's condition was frequently diagnosed in the
second trimester, the flare-up may have caused her immune system to
produce more cytokines, which are associated with inflammation and
could have damaged fetal brain development.

Ah, something new to stress over!! I developed sneezy, itchy
hayfever-like allergies around the beginning of my 2nd trimester. I use
Nasonex to keep it under control (strangely, my neck and the skin under
my chin get itchy with the allergy too, and nothing seems to help
that).

Well, nothing to be done but wait and see.

Melania
Mom to Joffre (Jan 11, 2003)
and #2 (edd May 21, 2005)

On 7 Feb 2005 17:11:29 -0800, "Roman Bystrianyk"
wrote:

http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.p...st_item&id=596

"Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses", Reuters, February 7, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=7560399

Expectant mothers suffering from asthma, allergies or a type of skin
disease have a higher risk of giving birth to an autistic child, a
study said on Monday.

Asthma, allergies and psoriasis symptoms during pregnancy -- especially
if diagnosed in the second trimester --

Does that mean diagnosed for the first time in the second trimester?
Or existing chronically, continuing into the second trimester?

Hope

--
Riley 1993 c/s
Tara 2002 HBAC
#3 Sept 2005!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crunchy_september_mamas/

"Melania" wrote in news:1107828806.516702.253740
@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Ah, something new to stress over!! I developed sneezy, itchy

Not yet. Studies like the one described very often come up with false
leads. The problem is that if you look for statistical associations
between some outcome (say autism) and a large number of different potential
causes (at least 47 different maternal conditions) in a single study, it's
*very* likely that you'll see at least one association that meets the test
of statistical significance but is merely due to chance. If, say, you find
an association between autism and maternal asthma in such a study, all
you've learned is that you need to do another study, with a different
sample, looking *only* at that possible association. If one doesn't show
up, it means that the original association in the multifactorial study was
just due to the random characteristics of the sample involved. A study
that looks at only one factor will be much less likely to come up with a
false association than one that looks at many.