The theory had been talked about in academic circles because of the growing incidence of autism; the Center for Diseases Control has stated that one in 86 children has autism.
The study by University of Chicago relies on a known correlation that genital malformation in boys is linked to exposure to harmful environmental factors such as pesticides. "Autism and intellectual disability rates are correlated with incidence of genital malformations in newborn males--an indicator of possible congenital exposure to harmful environmental factors such as pesticides," the study said.
The study found that autism rates jumped by 283% for every 1 % increase in frequency of malformations in a county. Intellectual disability rates increased 94 %, said the study published on Friday in PLOS Computational Biology.
In a press release put out by the Unviversity of Chicago, study author Andrey Rzhetsky has been quoted as saying: "Autism appears to be strongly correlated with rate of congenital malformations of the genitals in males across the country." This gives an indicator of environmental load and the effect is surprisingly strong, he added.
Although autism and intellectual disability have genetic components, environmental causes are thought to play a role. To identify potential environmental links, Rzhetsky and his team analyzed an insurance claims dataset that covered nearly one third of the US population. They used congenital malformations of the reproductive system in males as an indicator of parental exposure to toxins.
"Male fetuses are particularly sensitive to toxins such as environmental lead, sex hormone analogs, medications and other synthetic molecules. Parental exposure to these toxins is thought explain a large portion of congenital reproductive malformations, such as micropenis, hypospadias (urethra on underside of the penis), undescended testicles and others," the release said.
The researchers created a statistical baseline frequency of autism and ID across the country. They then looked at the actual rates of these disorders, county-by-county.
They found that every 1% increase in malformations in a county was associated with a 283% increase in autism and 94 % increase in ID in that same county.
In addition, they found that male children with autism are almost six times more likely to have congenital genital malformations.
The team anticipates future studies could leverage data from the Environmental Protection Agency and other sources to identify links between specific environmental causes and increased rates of autism and ID. "We interpret the results of this study as a strong environmental signal," Rzhetsky said.
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