Time between pregnancies could be linked to Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder whose causes are still a mystery to
Science.

The centers for disease control reports that approximately nine children out of a thousand are diagnosed with some form of autism.

Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to be involved.

A new study in the journal "pediatrics" finds that one possible environmental factor affecting the risk of Autism is the interval between multiple pregnancies.

The authors examined the medical records of over 650-thousand second-born children.

They compared their autism rates to the length of time between the birth of
The first child and the conception of the second child.

The result: If a child was conceived *less* than twelve months after the birth of his or her older sibling-- that child was more than three times more likely to be diagnosed with Autism than a child conceived more than three years after the birth of the first child.

And children conceived between one and two years after the birth of their older siblings-- were at almost double the risk of Autism.

The study concludes that a second-born child is at increased risk of Autism if conceived within one year after the birth of the first-born.

Why? The researchers don't know-- but suggest a possible reason may be that the first birth depletes the mother's body of nutrients needed for proper development in the womb.