Autism is a
particularly tough condition to treat, because we need to learn so much more
about what causes it, and why it happens. A report in the Archives of General
Psychology suggests genetics could play a major role. Men who become fathers in
their forties or older are much more likely to have autistic children than
younger dads. The study is a large one, looking at 130,000 Israeli Jews born in
the 1980’s. Those fathered by older men were almost six times more likely to
have autism or related disorders than those fathered by men younger than 30.
Mother’s age seem to have less of an influence. Now, there are some concerns
with the study; results need to be tested in a broader population. That’s
because we need to see if similar findings would occur in other ethnic groups.
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