Autism Linked to Parents’ Mental Illness
Posted on May 9th, 2008 by blue collar scientistIt is almost too tempting to avoid making a Jenny McCarthy joke here, so I’m going to avoid it by the skin of my teeth. I’ll just point you to this bit of news.
In another sign pointing to an inherited component to autism, a study released on Monday found that having a schizophrenic parent or a mother with psychiatric problems roughly doubled a child’s risk of being autistic.
“Our research shows that mothers and fathers diagnosed with schizophrenia were about twice as likely to have a child diagnosed with autism,” said Julie Daniels of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who worked on the study.
“We also saw higher rates of depression and personality disorders among mothers, but not fathers,” she said in a statement.
This study has a pretty big n - 1,227 children with autism, compared with families of 31,000 children without autism.
The result is not new; previous studies have supported the conclusions. This study appears in Pediatrics.
No one knows what causes autism, but researchers think it is likely that several genes and possibly environmental factors contribute.
Tags: autism, mental illness
May 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am
This calls for a twin study. Having a schizophrenic parent is one big mutha of an environmental factor.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Did the study look to see if the mothers were seeking help for depression, etc. after they had a child with autism as opposed to before? Having a child who needs life long care, keeps you awake all night and basically needs help 24/7 can take a toll on parents, especially the main caregiver.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Joe, I haven’t read the paper, but the main conclusion promoted by the press story involved severe psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. From all we know about schizophrenia, it does not seem plausible to believe that a mother could become schizophrenic by having a baby, even one requiring a great deal of attention.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
What a great blog! I can’t believe I haven’t found you sooner!
I do want to differ a little bit with you on the schizophrenia comment above. While it’s not possible for a mother to ‘catch’ it like it were a mere virus it is possible for it to be unknown, or undiagnosed. Stress is a common trigger in episodes of schizophrenia. I do believe caring for a severely autistic child could cause episodes of mental illness in a mother that had a tendency toward mental illness. I say severely autistic child because I think it is often several years before a diagnosis is ever made.
My friend unfortunately learned first hand that schizophrenia can remain undetected. She married, never knowing her husband had it. When they tragically one of their children he suddenly snapped and became a totally different person to the point that he was unsafe to be around, even making attempts on her life.
This really is an interesting study. I would love to hear more about it. I hope the press doesn’t play this as the ‘anti-Jenny’ card. I think that would make people question it right away. Unfortunately, I think our culture is more likely to believe celebrities than scientific studies…but that’s another post and it’s nothing specific to Jenny or her stand….
Jen
http://furoreandfrenzy.com
http://parents2parents.org