Autistic children age Affected More Than Mom Dad

Autistic children age Affected More Than Mom Dad

California, parents aged over 40 years are likely to have infertility problems, one risk of having a child with autism. But according to recent studies, the risk of having an autistic child is more influenced by maternal age, not the father.

U.S. researchers found that the risk of children with autism can occur if the woman gave birth over 40 years of age or women under 30 who has a husband of 40 years.

40-year-old woman at risk of having a child with autism 50 percent higher than women aged 25-29 years. Meanwhile, older paternal age is 40 years and over will only make a significant contribution to the risk of autism if the mother is under 30 years old.

"Mothers who are old age the greater the risk of having a child with autism, regardless of his father's young or old," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto of the University of California Davis MIND Institute, told Reuters on Tuesday (9/2/2010) .

However, these findings contradict previous research in 2006 on children born in Israel. The study mentions that the father's age would play a bigger role.

Hertz-Picciotto added there was debate about who has the most to contribute to the risk of autism, many people think the risk is not absolutely determined by the mother.

Currently researchers and policy makers is actively seeking an explanation cause of the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism. Disease autism has yet found a cure, children who have autism usually have a problem with communication disability and mental retardation whose symptoms are relatively mild to severe.

This issue parent's age can be a challenge in determining risk factors for autistic children, because mothers and fathers who are older tend to have a child together. "This could happen because parents are both elderly, the risk is given by the father is proportional to the risk of the mother," said Hertz-Picciotto.

Analyses revealed that parents are aged over 40 years, tend to have used fertility treatments. Another possibility is the addition of the mothers tend to have autoimmune conditions include gestational diabetes, has many toxins that enter the body so the sperm and egg cells are likely to have some changes that could increase the risk.

Another factor thought to play a part was an autistic child develop household products that contain hazardous materials, medical care, food intake, supplements, and an infection occurs.