New studies conducted in five countries suggest that a more significant factor in risks for autism is the genetic structure. This seems to be more influential than the environment the subjects are living in, the lifestyle they have adapted to or in some cases, the community characteristics or pregnancy results.
The causes that might provoke the autism disorder are thought to be linked to genetic traits that are passed down on or some non-inherited characteristics and a few maternal features.
For their new study, researchers have analyzed data from births dating from 1998 and 2007, with subjects coming from Israel, Sweden, Finland, and Western Australia.
In almost every case, 80% of the variation in risk for autism has been associated with genetic traits that were inherited. In some cases, these variations ranged from 51% in Finland and in Israel with an astounding 87%.
Genetics Influences The Risks Of Autism
Sweden’s senior author of the study and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sven Sandin stated: “The results show that genetic factors are most important (about 80% of the variation in risk) but that the environment also plays a role. The results show that genetic factors are most important (about 80% of the variation in risk) but that the environment also plays a role.”
Some previous studies found that the chances when having a sibling that presents a factor of 10 to 14 increases autism. Sanding furthermore said that having a cousin with autism, these changes can be even doubled.
Knowing these genetic traits that influence the risks of having autism don’t necessarily help the patients to prevent this disorder in their families. “Since our results do not tell us anything about specific risk factors or specific genes, there are not many parents can learn to influence the risk of developing autism,” Sandin said.
This study has been conducted on 680,000 families that were observer continuously until their children have reached the age of 16. The total of children subjected to this research is 2 million, and from that, more than 22,000 children have been diagnosed with autism.
