News at HSPHAlthough a number of studies have suggested that various factors around the time of birth may raise a child’s risk of autism, there is not enough evidence to pinpoint specific causes, according to a meta-analysis led by a former Harvard School of Public Health researcher.
The review by University of Miami School of Medicine epidemiologist Hannah Gardener, conducted while she was at HSPH, appeared online in the journal Pediatrics on July 11, 2011, and was reported by Reuters Health news.
Gardener’s study is the first review and meta-analysis of the association between perinatal and neonatal factors and the risk of autism, the spectrum of brain disorders that interfere with communication and social interaction. Researchers examined a number of factors, such as low birth weight, delivery complications, fetal distress during labor, and newborn problems with breathing or heart rate. But nothing specific stood out as causing higher autism risk.
Researchers believe that autism involves a complex interaction between genes and environmental factors. Gardener told Reuters that the current findings underscore the importance of studying how various factors interplay to cause autism.
