Interesting study out of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, on a connection between rates of autism and prevalence of rainfall/precipitation. Results showed a 'positive association' between the amount of precipitation a birth cohort (number of children living near each other) and the autism prevalence rates (number of children born with autism in that area). They don't know the exact connection except to say it suggests an environmental trigger that may or may not be linked to a genetic predisposition.
This from a Palm Beach Post article by Phil Galewitz:
“Autism prevalence was higher for birth cohorts that experienced relatively heavy precipitation when they were younger than three years,” the authors write in the study. “This corresponds to the time at which autism symptoms usually appear and when any post-natal environmental factors would be present.”
Several possible explanations exist for the positive association, according to the researchers: Precipitation may be associated with more indoor activities, such as television and video viewing, that affect behavioral and cognitive development. The increased amount of time spent indoors also may expose children to more harmful chemicals, such as those in cleaning products, or decrease their exposure to sunshine, which helps the body produce vitamin D, the study said.
“Finally, there is also the possibility that precipitation itself is more directly involved,” the authors write. “For example, there may be a chemical or chemicals in the upper atmosphere that are transported to the surface by precipitation.”
The study notes the findings are still preliminary and more research is needed to clearly prove a link.
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A little clip of the 'real' Rain Man.
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