Weak link between grandmums' smoking and autistic grandkids

Conclusion This study aimed to see whether smoking in pregnancy is linked with some traits of ASD in the smoker's grandchildren. Although this was based on a large cohort of children, the results give quite a confusing and inconclusive picture. To be frank, the study raised more questions than it answered. Maternal grandmother smoking was linked with ASD traits only in girls (in whom ASD is less common in any case) – and then only if their own mother did not smoke. When looking at actual diagnosed cases of autism, the link was only found in boys. The study had some important limitations to consider: Most of the data was on behavioural traits, not actual diagnosed ASD, which cannot necessarily be directly linked with autism diagnoses. The causes of ASD aren't known. Although the researchers attempted to adjust for some confounding variables, many other environmental and lifestyle factors could be having an influence, such as the child's or their own parent's diet, exercise or other social influences. ASD traits and autism diagnoses were only found when their own mother had not smoked in pregnancy – which indicates that it might not be smoke exposure that directly increases risk of ASD. The results rely on reports from parents on their own parents, which may have been subject to recall bias if they could not remember all the facts. Some may not have known with certainty if their own parents had smoked during pregnancy. Although it was a large sample, it was ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Neurology Mental health Genetics/stem cells Source Type: news