Fathers with Technical Occupations More Likely to Have Autistic Children

A new study highlights a strong association between parent's occupation and the increased risk of autism in their offspring.

According to researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, children who are born to father who have technical occupation, suffer an increased risk of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Fathers who worked in engineering were two times more likely to have an offspring with ASD.  Fathers working in the finance sector were four times more likely to have children with autism and the risk was six times higher if the fathers were into health care occupations.

During the participation in the LoneStar LEND Program, researcher used the U.S. government's Standard Occupational Classification System. Parents were divided into groups based on their occupations. One was a non-people-oriented job (technical) and the other was people-oriented jobs (non-technical).

However the researchers found no association between a mother's occupation and the offspring's risk of Autism.  Children having both the parents in technical fields were at the highest risk of having a serve form of autism.

"Parental occupation could be indicative of autistic-like behaviors and preferences and serve as another factor in a clinician's diagnosis of a child with suspected autism. Medical students can be taught that this is one of the things to consider," Dickerson said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ASD is a group of developmental disabilities that trigger significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.  Nearly 1 in every 68 children has been diagnosed with ASD. This disorder is 5 times more common in boys than girls.

The findings were presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.