Newborn jaundice may signal increased autism risk

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Newborn jaundice may signal increased autism risk

Full-term babies who develop jaundice have a 67 percent higher risk of

developing autism, Danish researchers say, a finding that contradicts a similar

study published five years ago.

According to the study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, being born

between October and March and not being the mother's first child further

increases the risk for autism for children who develop jaundice.

" This paper does not say that jaundice causes autism, " cautions Dr. Max

Wiznitzer, a neurologist at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland,

Ohio, who was not involved with the study. He points to a 2005 Kaiser

Permanente study conducted in Northern California, which also looked at a

jaundice-autism link and concluded high bilirubin levels in newborns is not a

risk factor for autism.

Jaundice is caused by higher levels of bilirubin, which is created in the

process of breaking down old blood cells in the body. If too much of this

chemical builds up in a newborn's body, it can cause the skin and whites of the

eyes to take on a yellowish tone.

While a baby is still in the womb, the mom's liver takes care of removing

bilirubin. Once the baby is born, its own liver has to take over the job.

" Most babies develop jaundice in the first few days after birth because it takes

a few days for the baby's liver to get better at removing bilirubin, " says the

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

" Jaundice is present to some degree in most newborns, " according to the National

Institutes of Health (NIH), but usually doesn't cause any problems and goes away

within one to two weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, " About 60 percent of

all babies have jaundice, " but if it's untreated and the levels of bilirubin get

very high, it can lead to brain damage called kernicterus.

There are several types of autism classified as autism spectrum disorders

(ASDs). The cause is not known and there is no test for these disorders, which

cause significant social, communication and behavioral difficulties. The CDC

estimates that 1 in 110 children in the United States have an ASD.

" Most likely autism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental

factors, " says Alycia Halladay, Ph.D., the director of Research, Environmental

Sciences for the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Halladay says the study authors

have theories about the lack of sunlight in the winter months contributing to

less vitamin D production and an accumulation of bilirubin. She notes this new

study does not say jaundice causes autism. Still,Halladay says, jaundice could

be a marker for autism.

" This could be something else that they [pediatricians] can watch out for, " says

Halladay. She suggests doctors keep look ing for other warning signs for autism

if a baby has had jaundice. Early diagnosis of autism in children and early

therapy has been shown to increase the chances of developmental improvement.

Wiznitzer says this study raises a lot of questions that still need to be

answered. Given the fact that this study comes to the opposite conclusion of

the California study, he suggests that, " this needs to be reproduced in other

parts of the world. " He says it needs to be determined if all full-term

newborns with jaundice are at an increased risk for autism, or if there's

something in Scandinavia that would not be a factor in other parts of the world.