Aspies For Freedom

Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st..._autism_dc

Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses

Mon Feb 7, 4:00 PM ET


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Expectant mothers suffering from asthma, allergies or a type of skin disease have a higher risk of giving birth to an autistic child, a study said on Monday.


Asthma, allergies and psoriasis symptoms during pregnancy -- especially if diagnosed in the second trimester -- doubled the risk of autism in children compared to children who were not afflicted, researchers from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, said.


Autism is a mysterious condition that strikes roughly six in 1,000 children, mostly boys, and is associated with diminished social skills and an adherence to routines.


The study looked at 88,000 children belonging to the Kaiser Permanente health plan born in Northern California between 1995 and mid-1999, 420 of whom were diagnosed with autism.


The researchers said there was no statistical link between autism in children and 44 autoimmune diseases in mothers, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis. The exception was psoriasis, which doubled the risk of autism.


Previous research has suggested there may be a link between autoimmune disease during pregnancy and autism, because autistic children often have high levels of autoimmune response chemicals in their bloodstreams. Women make up 78 percent of patients with autoimmune diseases, where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues.


The report, which was published in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, speculated that there may be a common underlying genetic cause to such ailments as asthma and autism.


Or, because the mother's condition was frequently diagnosed in the second trimester, the flare-up may have caused her immune system to produce more cytokines, which are associated with inflammation and could have damaged fetal brain development.

There are numerous factors with this.
Firstly a woman with asthma often finds that is it worse with a pregnany of a female baby, and better with a male baby. It is thought that testosterone is the difference and the higher amounts with a male child ease the asthma.
That is exactly the effect that I found personally, having had asthma since 1990.
More boys are autistic though, supposedly by 4:1 or thereabouts. And higher testosterone is a signifier of a possible autistic baby, from research by Baron-Cohen.
So these facts would seem the opposite of the latest study.

For me I had asthma and never had any increased proble with either pregnancy with my boys, I also have eczema, so do the boys as well as asthma. My parents didn't get diagnosed with Asthma till within the past 10 yrs. My father's cousins that have autistic children don't have family history of asthma. So really can't give much judgement on the asthma link, not sure on the allergies/skin problems though. None of this would all matter to me anyways, it's like it's being drug back to another thing to blame the mother.  :-(

My mother read about this study and quickly latched onto it, since she first had asthma symptons when she was pregnant with me.  I don't know- I mean there are other members of my family, (including my father to some extent,) who have my symptons as well.  I can understand that what makes me different has some genetic origins, which is why what's "strange" about me is also what's strange about my aunt or my cousin.  I don't like thinking that my entire personality can be chalked up though, to mom's allergic reactions.

I have asthma (had it since I was three), psoriasis (from the age of 18 ) and fibromyalgia (from the age of about five, and some people believe it is an autoimmune disease), and I have five NT children!

Ok...I'm gonna sound dumb here, but I'm new to this site, and I keep seeing NT wherever I go...what's the exact meaning for that?

Winnie, it means neurologically typical, meaning people who aren't autistic.

Thanks Uschi!  Man I can't wait to start calling certain people NT's...oh well, one possible upside about this study might be my mother will stop blaming my father for giving his daughter Aspie genes...seriously the joke in our family for years, was that if she wanted a more social daughter she should have been more careful about who she married.

Aren't allergy rates in autism way higher than in the general population? Isn't it logical that these allergies are inherited? Isn't it logical that the parents of autists would be more likely to have any of the conditions often co-morbid with autism? I'd say this research deserves a resounding DUH.
:-(

Where's an "applause" emoticon when you need one?  8-O

i have no history for myself or in my family of asthma or allergies and i had a nt first child and a autistic second!! sometimes i think that we will never know the true causes of autism..... :-(

As far as this is concerned about true causes of autism, I wouldn't want to find out, I don't care what they are, I am who I am for a reason, same with my autistic son. What does it matter now what caused it? We're here, we're different.... we're human, shouldn't that be what matters? That's just my take on things.