New Study Establishes Link between Autism and Schizophrenia

Researchers have found new evidence to link autism in children to mental illness in their parents. The research, carried out by researchers at Chapel Hill’s University of North Carolina, indicates the possibility of autistic children’s parents suffering from schizophrenia was two times more than that of normal children. The study has been published in Pediatrics, a journal.

In the course of the study, the researchers looked at the records of over 30,000 children and discovered that autism rates were way higher in cases where a parent was a schizophrenia patient or was suffering from some other forms of mental illness, such as depression or psychiatric and personality disorders.

In statistical terms, the researchers discovered the risk of a child suffering was approximately 70% if one of the parents was suffering from some mental disorder. In cases where both the parents were mentally ill, the chances of the child being autistic increased by two times. The indication from this study is clear: both autism and psychiatric disorders share a common cause and probably are interlinked genetically.

The research team was led by Dr. Julie Daniels, an assistant professor in the epidemiology and maternal and child health departments of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina.

During the study, the team examined 1, 237 autistic Swedish children who were born between 1977 and 2003. All of them had been diagnosed with autism by the time they were 10 years old. During the study, the team cross-referenced the children’s records with the medical histories of their parents. These were then compared to the medical records of another 30, 925 children who were healthy.

The study showed that the strongest link established between autism in children and parents with mental disorders was in the case of schizophrenia. The results of the new study give a fillip to the findings of earlier studies that established a link between autism in children and genetics.

About 1% of children suffer from autism. The chances of autism are four times higher in boys than in girls. Another study conducted earlier than this study had put to rest concerns about the existence of a link between autism and the MMR triple vaccine.