Older fathers more likely to have autistic grandchildren

[Redfairen]

Source: Reuters

Men who have children when they are older are more likely to have grandchildren with autism, according to a study which shows for the first time that risk factors for autism may build up over generations.

Men who had a daughter when they were 50 or older were 1.79 times more likely to have a grandchild with autism than men between 20 and 24, and with sons the likelihood was 1.67 times.

.......

"We know from previous studies that older paternal age is a risk factor for autism," said Emma Frans from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who co-led the research with Reichenberg.

"This study goes beyond that and suggests that older grand-paternal age is also a risk factor for autism, suggesting that risk factors for autism can build up through generations."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/20/us-autism-grandfathers-idUSBRE92J18720130320

[KamaAina]

1. The Karolinska Institute isn't always the best source for autism research

they've come up with some pretty wild claims over the years. For instance, researcher Christopher Gillberg published a study claiming that all Autistic children also had a condition called tuberous sclerosis!

edit: I used to work with autism researchers at Yale, which is where I encountered this.

[Demeter]

2. I had heard once that autism was more common in Scandanavians

because that's how they get through those long winters...

https://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2011/researchers-track-down-autism-rates-across-the-globe