Autism diagnoses have erupted in recent years. Now, approximately 1 in 31 American children have autism – from 1 to 59 in 2014 – according to reports on disease control and prevention centers. Meanwhile, a 2024 study showed that the number of children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum was increased by 175% in a decade.
The current conversation about autism tariffs is the Minister of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who at a press conference on Wednesday led to even more urgency to increase diagnoses -claiming a jump is caused by “toxin in the environment”.
“Someone gained profit by investing this toxin into the environment in the air, water, our medicines, our food, and that is in their favor to normalize it. But this is not good for our country,” Kennedy said.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental damage caused by brain differences, according to CDC. And while some people with ASD have a recognizable difference – as a genetic condition – other causes are not yet known.
Scientists believe that many causes can act together, but more research should be done. A recent study outside China, for example, found a link between gestational diabetes – diabetes during pregnancy, affecting up to 9% of pregnancy in the United States – and autism (as well as other problems with the brain and nervous system).
At the press conference on Wednesday, Kennedy announced that the department would examine all the “potential culprits”. Kennedy, a well -known vaccine skeptic, bases the protection of children’s health – whose mission is to “terminate the epidemic of childhood health by eliminating toxic exposure” – after the mothers of children with ASD, begged him to look at the connection between mercury (in water supply and in vaccines, through preservative timer.
“You have to ask yourself: Why is it so widespread?” HHS secretary said on Wednesday.
Below are the five “toxins” Kennedy that will be considered, and what science says to everyone.
Mold
One of the possible culprits that Kennedy identifies was the Mord. And while two systematic reviews of past studies – from 2021, looking at 11 studies, and another from 2018 – possible links between mycotoxins released from some forms and the development of autism, no definitive cause has been established.
“The examined information shows that exposure to mold and mycotoxins can affect the nervous system, directly or by activating the immune cells, thus contributing to neuro -development disorders such as autistic spectrum disorder,” writes the review authors for 2018.
Nutritional supplements
Kennedy said nutritional supplements will also be investigated and so far the relationship between such supplements and ASD is unclear. A 2020 meta-analysis found that food dyes could be associated with ASD, but it could not finally identify it as a cause. And a 2019 study by the University of Central Florida, potentially associated with ASDs to mothers who consume processed foods containing conservative propionic acid (PPA), which can change how the fetal brain develops during pregnancy.
Pesticides
As for pesticides, also in the Kennedy list, a study of last year found that regions in southern Spain with increased pesticides were more spreading ASDs, suggesting a link between the increased exposure of pesticides in the environment and autism.
A systematic examination of 2023 suggests that more studies should be done in this area, but this age of the mother can be an important factor to take into account, as the concentration of pesticides in the body increases with age and therefore the higher ages of the mother are more strongly associated with an increased risk of autism in their children.
The authors have also suggested that exposure to pesticides can work in tandem with other factors that may be harmful or beneficial for the development of the nervous system, such as lifestyle, socio -economic or educational status, ethnicity or gender.
Medication
While Kennedy does not explicitly call vaccines as one of the potential causes of autism, he said they would look at “medicines” and their relationship with autism.
He recently appointed a skeptic of a vaccine to review the discoveries of the debunked Wakefield studies that bind the vaccines – more special vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) – to autism. But neither common drugs taken during pregnancy or vaccines, including MMR, are not shown to be associated with ASD.
One of the most famous such studies is from Denmark and examined 537 303 children, 82% of whom received the MMR vaccine. He finds that the risk of autism among vaccinated children is the same as that of non -vaccinated children and there is no connection between age at the time of vaccination, time after vaccination or date of vaccination and development of autism.
Ultrasound
Kennedy pointed to ultrasounds, a diagnostic tool that relies on energy in the form of sound waves that bounce from tissues and bones to create images – as another area of study. He believes that there is a “timeline” that is aligned with the increase in the speed of autism and the spread of ultrasound technology, which became more common in prenatal care in the 1960s and 70s. However, studies have found that there is no connection between ultrasounds and ASDs.
The American Academy of Obstetrics and Gynecology emphasizes that there is no evidence that ultrasounds are harmful to the developing fetus. However, the Academy recommends that pregnant women receive only medically necessary ultrasounds, as “the effects may be identified in the future”.
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This story was originally presented on Fortune.com