President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are expected on Monday to release a highly-anticipated report on possible causes of autism, an issue that has preoccupied both men for years.
Autism diagnoses in the United States have greatly increased over the last 25 years. Autism experts say the increase is at least partly caused by an increase in awareness and the gradual expansion of the disorder’s definition. But Mr. Trump and Mr. Kennedy have long suggested that vaccines may be playing a role, a theory that has been discredited by dozens of scientific studies.
In the new report, they are expected to put forward another possible risk factor: acetaminophen, the active ingredient in the common painkiller Tylenol, taken during pregnancy. That potential link, too, has been studied over the years, but the evidence has been inconclusive.
Here is what scientists know about autism and its potential causes and risks.
What is autism?
Autism spectrum disorder, as it is officially called, is a far-ranging mix of social and communication issues, repetitive behaviors and thinking patterns. The severity of the symptoms varies widely, from mild to very serious impairment. A child with an autism diagnosis may simply struggle with social cues; other children with severe cases may not be able to speak or use the toilet without help. There is no blood test or brain scan to determine who has autism, just the observations of clinicians and what parents tell them.
Could it be genetic?
Hundreds of genes have been associated with autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder, but scientists say it appears to result from a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors.
“I do remember 30 years ago the geneticists being quite optimistic that we were talking about maybe six to 10 genes that might be contributing to autism risk, and now we know that number is literally in the hundreds,” said Helen Tager-Flusberg, a psychologist at Boston University. “Finding even the genetic basis of autism is turning into a far more complex a picture than we might have imagined.”
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The post What to Know About Painkillers, Vaccines, Genes and Autism appeared first on New York Times.
