Study: Older Maternal Age Linked To Autism Risk


Use Article Email Facebook Digg Twitter Buzz Up! Share
February 9, 2010 6:53 a.m. EST

Topics: health, science (general), science and technology, United States
David Goodhue - AHN Reporter

Davis, CA, United States (AHN) - University of California, Davis researchers say advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly higher risk of having a child with autism, regardless of how old the father is.

The scientists said their research included a study of all births in California in the 1990s. They said in a statement that the father's age was not an issue in autism risk unless he is 40 or older and the mother is younger than 30.

The researcher said that the incremental risk of having a child with autism increased by 18 percent for every five-year increase in the mother's age. For example, a 40-year-old woman's risk of having an autistic child was 50 percent higher than that of a woman between the ages of 25 and 29.

Many studies indicate autism, which is a spectrum of social and communication disorders, is on the rise in the United States. According to the UC, Davis report, current estimates indicate between 1 in 100 and 1 in 110 children will develop autism.

The study appears in the journal Autism Research.


Copyright © 2003 - 2010 AHN - All rights reserved.
Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.
License real time content for your website, business, digital signage network or publication.

[ Close ]

When publishing articles from AHN we require that you follow several simple rules and that you abide by our Terms and Conditions.


You are free:

  • To use and display the provided article text on a website or blog.

Under the following conditions:

  • You must display and attribute the article in the manner specified by AHN (but not in any way that suggests that we endorse you or your use of the work).
  • You may not remove ads, logos or tracking information from the article.
  • You may display the article on a website, but you may not use the article for any other commercial purposes.
  • You may not alter, rewrite, transform, or build upon the article.
  • You may only use provided the javascript code to request the article from our systems.

Copy and paste the following into your blog entry or the HTML on your page.
It will automatically deliver the article as the page loads.

Need more news? visit FeedSyndicate for all of your content needs

This is a BETA service and subject to change or cancellation.