Introduction to Autism Studies
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday that the agency will announce, within three weeks, a series of studies aimed at identifying “environmental toxins” he claims are responsible for a dramatic rise in autism rates in children in the U.S.
Autism Rates in the U.S.
Kennedy spoke a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that found in 2022, 1 in 31 kids in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by their 8th birthday — up from 1 in 150 kids in 2000, when the agency began collecting data.
Autism diagnoses among 4-year-olds in the new report were estimated at 1 in 34.
Causes of Autism
Pediatricians and other health experts have attributed the increase largely to greater awareness and better surveillance of the disorder. Autism’s definition has also broadened to identify milder cases, which has contributed to more diagnoses.
Despite evidence that suggests there is no one single cause of autism, Kennedy is vowing to uncover an underlying reason by September.
Environmental Toxins
During a news conference Wednesday, Kennedy claimed, without evidence, that environmental exposures — such as the nation’s food supply, water or medicine — are likely contributing to rising autism rates in kids. He called autism a “preventable disease,” an assertion pushed back on by health experts.
“We know what the historic numbers are,” Kennedy told reporters, “and we know what the numbers are today, and it’s time for everybody to stop attributing this to this ideology of epidemic denial.”
Response from Health Experts
He also dismissed conclusions from the CDC report’s authors, who attributed the rise to more awareness and better surveillance. The report also reaffirmed evidence suggesting that genetics likely plays a role.
“We know it’s an environmental exposure. It has to be,” Kennedy said. “Genes do not cause epidemics. It can provide a vulnerability. You need an environmental toxin.”
Kennedy said the agency will look at mold, food additives, pesticides, water, medicines, ultrasound and obesity.
Criticism and Concerns
Alison Singer, the president of the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit group for families with autism, said the CDC’s report Tuesday “is the most convincing evidence yet that changes in factors like access to services and de-stigmatization” are leading to the increases in prevalence of autism.
Singer said Kennedy made a series of false assertions about autism during Wednesday’s news conference, including that the disorder is caused by something in the environment.
An overwhelming amount of evidence points to a genetic cause, Singer said, adding that in about 20% of autism cases, one genetic variant can explain the disorder.
Conclusion
The health secretary’s remarks on environmental exposures echo his previous comments about the disorder.
Kennedy has repeatedly suggested that vaccines are linked to autism — a connection that has been widely debunked.
Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said he isn’t persuaded that Kennedy’s studies will uncover anything new, saying that the health secretary has already come to a predetermined conclusion.
FAQs
Q: What is the current rate of autism diagnoses in the U.S.?
A: According to the CDC report, 1 in 31 kids in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by their 8th birthday in 2022.
Q: What is the proposed cause of the rise in autism rates?
A: Kennedy claims that environmental exposures, such as food supply, water, or medicine, are likely contributing to the rise in autism rates.
Q: What do health experts say about the cause of autism?
A: Health experts attribute the increase largely to greater awareness and better surveillance of the disorder, as well as a broadened definition of autism.
Q: What will the agency’s studies focus on?
A: The agency will look at mold, food additives, pesticides, water, medicines, ultrasound, and obesity.
