Autism more likely in siblings

A new study shows that parents who already have a child with autism have a 1 in 5 chance of having a second child with autism.

The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that a study conducted by Baby Siblings Research Consortium, a multi-site international network, followed 664 infants who had an older sibling diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder for 36 months.

While researchers originally thought the autism recurrence risk was between 3 percent and 10 percent, the new study found about 19 percent of the infants in the study developed ASD. The results of the study stated that male infants were about three times as likely to develop ASD.

Out of the 132 infants found to have ASD, only 29 of them were female. Other demographics, including ethnicity, birth order, maternal and paternal education and age, revealed no significant correlation in the outcome of the study.

“The size of the current sample and prospective nature of data collection minimized many limitations of previous studies of sibling recurrence,” the conclusion stated. The study concluded that rates of recurrence may actually be higher than 19 percent because outcomes were determined at 36 months, which is before milder forms of ASD, including Asperger disorder, are usually diagnosed.

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