Login
Does a Parent’s Exposure to Workplace Chemicals Affect Autism in Their Children?
A new study in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health finds parents’ workplace chemical exposure may be linked to a range of behavioral challenges and developmental delays in their children with autism.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that is marked by challenges with social skills, communication struggles and repetitive behaviors. Autism traits can vary widely in how mild or strong they are.
“Past research explored the impact of environmental factors on the likelihood of a child developing autism,” said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a co-author and professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the UC Davis MIND Institute.
“This study is one of the first to connect parental job exposures to the severity of their child’s autism based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition” (ADOS-2),” Hertz-Picciotto said. “The ADOS-2 Calibrated Severity Score is considered the ‘gold standard’ diagnostic assessment of autism,” Hertz-Picciotto said.
Study Uncovers Alarming Anxiety Rates Among Autistic College Students
As autism diagnoses continue to grow and remain a topic of nationwide debate, new research reveals that autistic individuals are facing mental health challenges at a major turning point in their lives — when they go to college.
According to a new study led by researchers at Binghamton University, autistic college students face dramatically higher rates of anxiety and depression compared to their non-autistic peers.
Psychologists at Binghamton examined data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which included 342 universities and 149,783 undergraduate student respondents. Of the questions posed, students can report being autistic and also whether or not they have a diagnosis of anxiety or depression. The researchers analyzed the data to determine the rate of anxiety and depression for those who also reported being autistic.
“What we found is really staggering — autistic individuals endorse much higher rates of anxiety and depression compared to their non-autistic peers,” said Diego Aragon-Guevara, lead author on the paper and a PhD student in psychology at Binghamton.
ADHD’s Impact on Quality of Life Revealed
Children living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to have a significantly lower quality of life, especially if they are medicated or have a parent with a mental health condition.
That is according to one of the world’s most comprehensive studies into the disorder, which experts say emphasises the importance of GPs’ wraparound care when treating the condition.
While much is known about the functional and academic impacts of ADHD, researchers from Deakin University aimed to examine its impacts on long-term health-related quality of life.
The study traced more than 4000 children aged 4–17 across a 13-year period, finding that compared to those with no ADHD symptoms, children with ADHD symptoms had significantly lower quality of life.
It found that being a female, having autism or other medical conditions, taking ADHD medication, or having a caregiver with mental health problems is also associated with poorer quality of life.
Maternal Obesity Linked to Autism-Like Behaviors in Offspring
In a study conducted at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, researchers from the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) have uncovered a mechanistic link between maternal obesity prior to pregnancy and autism-related behavioral outcomes in offspring.
The study, led by Professors Dr. Alika K. Maunakea and Dr. Monika Ward from the Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology and the Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research (YIBR), sheds new light on how maternal health, even before conception, can program long-term neurodevelopmental trajectories in children. The work is published in the journal Cells.
The researchers demonstrated that obesity-induced changes in the mother’s metabolic environment lead to lasting epigenetic alterations in oocytes — the precursors to eggs. These modifications, specifically changes in DNA methylation patterns, were carried into the developing embryos, ultimately disrupting the expression of critical neurodevelopmental genes such as Homer1.
In male offspring, the study found increased expression of the short Homer1a isoform, known to interfere with synaptic function, resulting in behaviors consistent with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Fearing Medicaid Coverage Loss, Some Parents Rush to Vaccinate Their Kids
North Carolina Health News reported:
For two decades, Washington, D.C., pediatrician Lanre Falusi has counseled parents about vaccine safety, side effects and timing. But this year, she said, the conversations have changed.
“For the first time, I’m having parents of newborns ask me if their baby will still be able to get vaccines,” Falusi said.
Throughout the country, pediatricians say anxious parents are concerned about access to routine childhood immunizations, especially those with children on Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income families and people with disabilities. Medicaid covers 4 in 10 children in the U.S.
Children’s Empathy, Kindness Linked to Healthier Eating Habits as Teenagers
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School reported:
A new study finds that children who display kind, caring, and helpful behavior between the ages of 5 and 11 are more likely to make healthier eating choices as teenagers.
The research team, led by Farah Qureshi, ScD, MHS ’10, assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, drew on data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal dataset following more than 6,200 children in the United Kingdom from birth through adolescence.
The study was published online Aug. 11 in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
The researchers examined parent-reported prosocial behaviors — kindness, caring, cooperation — when children were ages 5, 7, and 11, and analyzed how these behaviors related to self-reported fruit and vegetable intake later, at ages 14 and 17. The study covered years 2005 to 2019. The researchers found that children who exhibited more frequent prosocial behavior were more likely to report healthier diets in adolescence.
