Forget flowers: Are April showers bringing a higher incidence of autism?
A new study reveals that autism could be linked to another more unexpected source: rainy, damp climates.
Researchers haven’t pinned down the exact link, but it’s theorized that there is a higher incidence of autism in parts of the U.S. that get more rain because, A) the foul weather causes children to spend a majority of their time indoors or, B) rain carries chemicals in the atmosphere to the ground. Either way, it’s believed that both of these cases may expose children to a higher number of environmental triggers that can spark the onset of autism in children who are genetically predisposed to the disorder.
But the fact is, even Michael Waldman, the leader of the study and an economics professor from Cornell University, isn’t positive about the links between rain and autism. “Our findings strongly suggest that there is some factor which is positively correlated with precipitation, which is serving as a trigger for autism,” Waldman said.
I know what you’re thinking: “the leader of the study is an economics professor?” And I thought the same thing. I’m betting that Waldman has dipped his toe in autism research because his own son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Waldman isn’t claiming that rain causes autism, but says the findings of the study are “inconsistent with it being just genetic.”
For one, Waldman believes that a vitamin D deficiency could be at fault. I’m a big vitamin D advocate, as you know, and if kids aren’t out there getting enough sunlight, it’s a problem. But while I’ve long known that vitamin D helps to battle cancer, asthma, and multiple sclerosis, Waldman’s conclusion that children the lack of vitamin D could be triggering autism is news to me.
Waldman’s study also concludes that less outdoor activity translates into more TV watching (probably somewhat true – but by no means an indisputable fact). “There are various papers showing associations between early childhood television viewing and various problems concerning cognitive outcomes, sleep problems, behavior problems, etc.,” Waldman said.
“Various papers?” “Various problems?” Is this enough to conclude that TV is triggering autism? Personally, I think it’s a stretch. I’m more inclined to believe his third possible link between rain and autism: that kids who spend more time indoors could have increased exposure to chemicals around the home which could trigger autism. More inclined, but mind you: not sold.
I’m not alone in my skepticism. Richard Lathe, an autism expert from Pieta Research in Edinburgh, Scotland, said, “One must be vigilant, because statistical correlations do not necessarily imply causality.”
Still, Lathe thinks there’s something to Waldman’s case. Lathe’s opinion is that the most likely explanation is that rain wrings chemicals from the atmosphere and puts them on the ground. But this hypothesis also requires careful study not an economics professor grasping at straws.
What Waldman has done is provide an intriguing link: autism rates are higher in areas with more precipitation. Now it’s time for the scientists and doctors to pick up on the economics professor’s work and put it to the test.
Probiotics can battle pneumonia
Color me completely unsurprised by a new Swedish study, which reveals that humble probiotics could be put to use in hospitals to help defend critically ill patients from developing deadly cases of pneumonia.
Probiotics contain beneficial bacteria, and they can help assist the body in combating gastrointestinal infections by helping re-establish what are known as gut flora – the microorganisms that live in your digestive tract. Studies show that probiotics can help do all kinds of wonderful things like strengthen the immune system and fight-off allergies and other immune diseases.
Because probiotics are natural (please note that there’s LOTS of these helpful little guys in my favorite beverage: raw milk!), they’re amazingly deficient in the one thing that Big Pharma products often have in abundance: side effects.
It could be some time before probiotics are put into practice as hospital pneumonia fighters. A spokesman for the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy said, “This is a plausible idea. But we need much larger trials that focus on clinical outcomes to prove it is an effective and affordable treatment.”
If you ask me, it’s a winner of an idea. Any step toward a more natural cure is a step in the right direction.
