Autism risks for siblings higher than thought

Chicago • A new study suggests nearly one in five children with an autistic older sibling will develop the disorder too — a rate much higher than previously thought.

Researchers followed 664 infants who had at least one older brother or sister with autism. Overall, 132 infants or about 19 percent ended up with an autism diagnosis, too, by their third birthdays. Previous smaller or less diverse studies reported a prevalence of between 3 percent and 14 percent.

“We were all a bit surprised and taken aback about how high it is,” said lead author Sally Ozonoff, a psychiatry and behavioral sciences professor with the Mind Institute at the University of California at Davis.

Well lets see you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure the out, quite frankly you don't even need to be a scientist just an individual with a little common sense. Dr. John Cannell is one medical doctor that has been shouting at the top of his lung the problem is Vitamin D...or the lack there of.

Patient friendly summary

Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council has studied the link between autism and lower levels of sunlight. There is increased prevalence of autism in regions of greater cloud cover and rainfall.

According to many studies, more children with autism are born during the spring. March is the time of lowest vitamin D levels in northern mid-latitudes. These areas are further from the sun and get less light. This corresponds to brain damage around the sixth month of pregnancy.

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Vitamin D is Synthesized From Cholesterol and Found in Cholesterol-Rich Foods

Since cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol will also inhibit the synthesis of vitamin D. Since sunlight is required to turn cholesterol into vitamin D, avoiding the sun will likewise undermine our ability to synthesize vitamin D. And since vitamin D-rich foods are also rich in cholesterol, low-cholesterol diets are inherently deficient in vitamin D.