01/05/2018
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released its latest autism numbers, which show that 1 child in every 59 is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, an increase from the previous 1 in 68. The study centered on children aged 8 years in 11 states from data collected in 2014, ABC News reported. The rates were a stunning 20 percent higher than a previous study just two years earlier, in 2012. As in the past, this study also showed that autism is about four times more common in boys. And, as before, officials said they still have no idea why autism numbers are up.
Eighteen years ago autism numbers among children were 1 in 150; and the rising trend since then isn’t limited to just the U.S. The rates have increased around the world, taking a heavy toll on families and economies everywhere. The only question is WHY is this happening? And why do health officials say they’re no closer to knowing what’s causing the increase than they were four years ago? To address this, I offer some of the following ideas that I’ve talked about in recent articles that I believe health officials need to look at.
First, while certain genetic mutations have been linked to autism, they're thought to be involved in less than one-third of cases. Another major cause of autism is thought to be environmental in nature, with prenatal exposure to toxins and nutrient deficiencies among the possible culprits. To that end, a mother’s exposures to pesticides, phthalates and flame retardants are among the suspects. However, children are typically diagnosed with autism around the age of 3 or 4, which is often too late to link the condition back to a certain in-womb exposure.
Heavy metal poisoning is another suspected cause: Teeth from children with autism were found to have more lead and less of the nutrients zinc and manganese than teeth from children without autism. The differences in metal uptake were greatest in the months just before and after birth.
It's also interesting that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and the most widely used herbicide in the world, is a manganese chelator, which may explain why children are deficient. The rise in glyphosate usage correlates closely with the incidence of autism, and there may be multiple mechanisms of harm at play. Stephanie Seneff, a senior research scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been instrumental in educating people about the hazards of glyphosate.
Recent research also shows vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is associated with an increase in autism-related traits in 6-year-old children. Deficiency was defined as vitamin D level below 25 nmol/L (10 ng/mL). Vitamin D regulates a gene responsible for conversion of tryptophan into serotonin. Serotonin is crucial during fetal brain development. When vitamin D is lacking, low serotonin can produce neurological defects.
And, while it’s not politically correct to mention, vaccines and the pediatric vaccination schedule may also have an influence on autism rates, particularly in premature infants. Data show anywhere from 8 to 27 percent of extremely preterm infants develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Premature birth is a known risk factor for neurodevelopmental problems of varying severity, yet prior to this study, the impact of the vaccination schedule on this risk had never been assessed. Not surprisingly, the results suggest the federally recommended childhood vaccination schedule may be inappropriate for premature infants.
Interestingly, no link to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) was found among unvaccinated premature infants — a provocative possibility further strengthened by the finding that vaccination was, in fact, linked with a higher risk of NDD among full-term children.
More Children Being Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Recent Years
