Sunday, December 2, 2012
Study: Flu, fever in pregnancy linked to autism risk
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/12/autism-pregnancy-flu/1693083/
I recently found this article about a study linking flu, fever in pregnancy to increased risk of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in the child. Data was analyzed form 97,000 mothers of children form 1997 to 2003. Researchers found that common infections during pregnancies such as UTIs, sinus infections, and the common cold did not show a link to increased risk of autism in the child. However, mothers who contracted the flu during pregnancy, their child had twice the risk of being diagnosed with autism. Mothers who had the flu for longer than seven days, the child had a three-fold risk of developing autism. There was also a slight increased risk in the child developing autism, if the mother used antibiotics.
They also found that mothers who had a fever and didn't take medication for it, their child had a higher risk for developing autism. If the mother did take medication, there wasn't a higher risk. According to the article, Fever is produced by an "acute inflammation response" reaction to the infection. Do you think inflammation could be a factor in causing autism?
This idea is interesting, because researchers are always developing new reasons for what causes autism, since it is still unknown. More research needs to be conducted to determine if this is a definite link to the cause of autism. Pregnant women should also get the flu shot to decrease the risk of causing problems in their children, when the baby doesn't have its own immunity yet.
What are your thoughts? Do you think women contracting the flu during pregnancy could be a link to their child developing autism? What about the flu could link these two together?
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I think that they study shows a link between the flu and the subsequent development of autism because of the symptoms that come with the flu, such as a fever. If this is the case it could explain the difference in the risks after medication.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a direct influence from the health of the mother onto the health of the child. With the use of the antibiotics, the mother's immune system is boosted which could also help to defend the growth of the child. The reduction in stress that a fever brings to the maternal system most likely is followed by a reduction in stress on the still developing systems of the offspring.
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