Many factors contribute to an autism diagnosis and researchers are continually discovering new environmental correlations. Recently, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that women who experienced childhood abuse are significantly more likely to have children with autism.
In honor of National Autism Awareness Month this April, Dr. Robert Melillo of the Brain Balance Achievement Centers explains how select environmental factors can alter the way genes are expressed to increase the risk of autism. His thoughts were reported in HealthNewsDigest.com
"I believe autism is the result of a number of environmental and genetic factors," says Dr. Melillo. "From parental and even grandparental age to location and diet, what's going on around us is playing a significant role in autism diagnoses. The proof is found in the relatively new science of epigenetics, which tells us that our environment, to a great degree, can manipulate how our genes behave."
The recent study on childhood abuse exemplified the importance of epigenetics as the abuse exerted lasting effects on the women's bodies to increase their risk of having a child with autism. "A likely explanation for the increased risk is that the lifestyle factors associated with abuse, poor nutrition or increased stress responses for example, resulted in biological changes which could have a lasting negative impact on the development of a fetus," continues Dr. Melillo.
In addition, the optimal age for a woman to give birth with the fewest risks of complications and compromises to her own and her baby's health is 24. However, more and more women are having children beyond age 40 and studies have shown that the risk of having a child with autism increases with both paternal and maternal age. Most recently, researchers at Sweden's Karolinksa Institutet found that men who fathered children after age 50 increased not only their children's risk for autism, but placed their children's children at a higher risk.
"Risk is cumulative, and from what we can tell, it takes a convergence of risk factors to create the epigenetic effect that will either turn on or turn off a gene or group of genes that will ultimately interfere with the developing brain," says Dr. Melillo. "The more risk factors you have, the greater your likelihood of having a child with autism. Luckily, there are measures you can take to help reduce your risk, and in many cases, reverse your risk."
Dr. Robert Melillo is an internationally known lecturer, author, educator, researcher and clinician specializing in the areas of neurology, rehabilitation, neuropsychology and neurobehavioral disorders in children. He is co-founder of the Brain Balance Achievement CentersTM and developed the Brain Balance ProgramTM, a multi-modal approach to the remediation of ADHD, dyslexia, autism, Asperger's, Tourette's, learning disabilities and processing disorders along with other neurobehavioral disabilities found in children.
Dr. Melillo has been regularly featured on Fox News and has written two books for parents focusing on brain imbalances in children; Disconnected Kids and Reconnected Kids. His third book, Autism: The Scientific Truth About Preventing, Diagnosing, and Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders - and What Parents Can Do Now, is now available.
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