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The study examined more than two million people in five countries to determine the causes of autism
Research has been ongoing for decades on the possible causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A new study of more than two million people has yielded remarkable results that could help provide answers to doctors, researchers and parents.
The study – the most important to date – published this week in JAMA Psychiatry revealed that autism spectrum disorders depend on more than 80% of inherited genes, which means that just under 20% cases are caused by environmental factors. This could mean great opportunities for genetic research on the disease that, according to the CDC, affects about 1 in 59 people (and is four times more common among boys).
Researchers looked at people from five countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Israel and Australia) and found: "Wherever we looked at five different samples, we found that genetic factors were the most important factors," he said. said the author of the study, Sven Sandin. HuffPost.
This is an important finding as the cause of ASD has been linked to air pollution, maternal factors such as weight and mode of delivery, viral infection or hypothesis of a totally refuted MMR vaccine.
The researchers examined the medical history of more than 2 million children between 1998 and 2012 and followed them until they were 16 years old. Of this group, just over 22,000 have developed autism spectrum disorder. In the context of national health registries, researchers badyzed the records of parents of children, their siblings and other family members, as well as specific genetic links, in order to draw conclusions.
"The results of the current study provide the best evidence to our knowledge so far that the majority of the risk of autism spectrum disorders comes from genetic factors," said Sandin. "This does not mean that we can completely ignore environmental risk factors and their interaction with genetic risk factors."
The findings are consistent with the results of a large study conducted in Sweden in 2017 on twin and non-twin couples, suggesting that about "83% of the risk of autism is inherited".
Genetic factors have long been known to play a role in the development of ASD, but the sheer size of this study shows just how important it is. "There is still a lot of work to be done," said Sandin. "We still do not know what specific genes contribute to the risk. In addition, many potential environmental factors could be related to ASD, either directly or interacting with genes. Until now, we only touched the surface. "
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