Large Study Finds Mercury Levels Not Higher In Autistic Children

October 20, 2009 7:11 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - New research indicates that mercury levels among children with autism are similar to developing children without the disorder.

The University of California, Davis scientists said in a statement that the study was the "most rigorous examination to date of blood-mercury levels in children with autism." They cautioned that the study did not disprove or prove whether mercury plays a role in causing the disorder.

The study's main author, Irva Herz-Picciotto said in a statement that after looking at the mercury levels in 452 participants - 249 with autism, 143 without it and 60 who had other developmental delays - the levels "were essentially the same" in all the children.

The study appears in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.