Autism at a Glance: Two Factors Increasing Risk of Autism

According to our article,” Environmental Factors in Autism”, their definition states Autism as neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in communication and social behavior, and by repetitive behaviors.
There are so many factors out in today’s society that are possibly the reason why we are seeing more and more autism cases today. Autism usually appears in the first three years of a child’s life by certain signs like no big smiles or other warm expressions by six months or like no words being spoken by 16 months.
In this blog, I want to talk about two factors that may be causing higher chances of having a child with autism—maternal diabetes and toxins.
First, let’s talk about maternal diabetes. According to our sources in our article, if a mother is pregnant and has diabetes, her child has a two-fold increases risk of obtaining Autism. Current research has proven links between obesity in the mother and her having higher chances of giving birth to a child with autism. However, other metabolic conditions like hypertension or diabetes really only showed trends for the risk of autism.
Secondly, toxins threaten developing fetuses which can cause birth defects. Two main agents are on scientists lists and they are called valproic acid and thalidomide. Valproic acid, when administered in utero, delays and lifelong deficits in motor performance, social behavior, and anxiety. For thalidomide, it regulates cytokine levels and macrophage inflammatory function. It was first used as an antiemetic in the 1950s but was found to cause birth defects shortly after. Finally, one study found that women who were early in pregnancy and were in close range to organochlorine pesticides which were sprayed on fields, had several more times likely of giving birth to a child with autism. These are all toxins that are shown to increase chances of birth defects and possibly cause autism but as of current research now, the concordance rate isn’t 100% and therefore, suggests genetics must play some role for a toxin to act as a trigger.
Science has shown that genetics play a role in autism spectrum disorders, but it also has revealed that genetics cannot fully account for all ASD cases, and thus that’s were many factors come into play like maternal diabetes and exposed toxins.