Testosterone linked to Autism-like traits
September 21st, 2007
An eight-year study by the University of Cambridge has shown that high levels of testosterone in foetuses are linked to autistic traits in childhood.
The findings are based on the results of a study, which examined the levels of foetal testosterone in the womb, and subsequently their 253 children. Potentially autistic traits were recorded in the children at intervals from the age of 12 months onwards, however it was the most recent results, when the children were eight years old, that confirmed the earlier findings.
Tests used to spot the autism-like traits included the Autism Spectrum Quotient questionnaire, as well as recording the childrens’ approach to socialising, and ability to pick up numerical patterns.
The researchers were clear in pointing out that the findings related to autistic traits, and just showed a link, rather than being a cause of autism itself. The next step is to establish whether the testosterone is a cause of the autistic traits, and what causes it in foetuses in the first place. A follow-up study is planned based on Demark’s archive of 90,000 amniocentesis samples and register of all psychiatric diagnoses.
