A connection between hot weather and fever during pregnancy seems specious. A connection between hot weather and autism seems even more specious given the increasing proportion of American mothers living with central air conditioning during the increase in recorded autism rates.
Add to this that autism often runs in families - at least 3 generations in mine, probably 4 or more - with births dating back to WWII, or to 1902 if we're right about my grandmother - and I find the whole thing even less plausible.
Of course this is all made even more complicated by the changing definition of autism, aka autistic spectrum disorders. With the DSM IV, my family members all had Asperger's syndrome - with the current DSM, we're autistic.
Fever in pregnancy may be a risk factor, but I'd be shocked to find that the rate of fever in pregnancy has gone up substantially in the past few decades. I'd expect it's more likely to have gone down.
Finally, what I really need to know is whether the data on fever in pregnancy was based on retrospective self report. I'm extremely willing to believe that mothers who consider their children to be defective in some way scour their past history looking for reasons, and find some, whereas those without problems do not.
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dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2019-12-12 02:37 pm (UTC)Add to this that autism often runs in families - at least 3 generations in mine, probably 4 or more - with births dating back to WWII, or to 1902 if we're right about my grandmother - and I find the whole thing even less plausible.
Of course this is all made even more complicated by the changing definition of autism, aka autistic spectrum disorders. With the DSM IV, my family members all had Asperger's syndrome - with the current DSM, we're autistic.
Fever in pregnancy may be a risk factor, but I'd be shocked to find that the rate of fever in pregnancy has gone up substantially in the past few decades. I'd expect it's more likely to have gone down.
Finally, what I really need to know is whether the data on fever in pregnancy was based on retrospective self report. I'm extremely willing to believe that mothers who consider their children to be defective in some way scour their past history looking for reasons, and find some, whereas those without problems do not.