The presence or absence of intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) varies with risk factors like gender, parental age, maternal ethnicity, and maternal level of education, according to a new study published in Autism Research.
In contrast to previous studies, American researchers found that household income level has no association with either ID or ASD.
Lead author Judith Pinborough-Zimmerman, Ph. D., and her colleagues identified children in the Salt Lake City region through the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and evaluated a variety of demographic factors.
Scientists found that children with ASD but not ID were significantly more likely to be male and to have mothers of white, non-Hispanic ethnicity. Children with both ASD and ID were also more likely to be male, but were more likely to have mothers older than 34 years of age.
Children who had ID but not ASD were significantly more likely to have fathers older than 34 years of age and significantly less likely to have mothers with more than 13 years of education.
"We hope that by identifying the many possible genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that may contribute to this complex group of neurodevelopment disorders, there can be improvements in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention," said Pinborough-Zimmerman.
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