Community Shares | August 21st 2023
A recent Canadian population-based study found that individuals with autism have higher rates of self-harm events leading to emergency health care and suicide death than people without the disorder, for both males and females. Females on the spectrum showed the highest cumulative self-harm events, followed by males with autism, neurotypical females, and neurotypical males. Males […]
Potential Blindness Linked to Restrictive Eating Habits of Children with ASD
Research Shows that Vitamin A Supplementation Can Reverse Eye Damage Xerophthalmia is a disease that causes dry eyes due to a vitamin A deficiency (VAD). If the condition goes untreated, xerophthalmia can lead to night blindness and cornea damage, which carries the risk of total blindness. This disease is rare in the United States but […]
Another Study Concludes that Labor Epidural Analgesia Is Linked to Autism
Fickle Findings from Recent Research Leave Parents Wondering Which Results Are Correct Over the past three years, SafeMinds has covered five studies investigating epidural anesthesia use during labor and its neurodevelopmental effect on offspring. The results of these studies have been inconsistent, with one study finding a direct association between epidurals and autism, one finding […]
Prenatal Exposure to Lead Negatively Affects the Gut Microbiome in Childhood
Study’s Authors Identify the Second Trimester as a Critical Exposure Window New research from the Icahn School of Medicine analyzed pilot microbiome data from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) cohort based in Mexico City to examine associations between prenatal lead (Pb) exposure and gut microbiome composition and function in […]
An Early Autism Diagnosis Does Not Necessarily Mean a Better Quality of Life
Research Finds the Number of Autistic Traits Is the Strongest Predictor of Better Life Outcomes British researchers recently set out to examine whether learning about an individual’s autism diagnosis earlier in childhood predicts a better quality of life and well-being in adulthood. Unlike previous research, their study did not find evidence for this relationship, suggesting […]
Early Exposure to General Anesthesia Could Be Linked to Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Research Suggests Exposure During Critical Stages of Brain Development May Contribute to Rising Rates of ADHD and Possibly ASD A recent meta-analysis from researchers at the University of Colorado suggests that early exposure to general anesthesia during critical stages of brain development might not be benign as once thought and could have lasting socio-affective consequences. […]
