Study: Autism is half genetic, half environmental - Raw Story
A large study in Sweden has shown that genes are just as important as environmental factors in assessing the causes of autism.
Researchers were surprised to discover that the inheritability of the neurodevelopmental disorder was about 50 percent -- much lower than previous studies that put it at 80-90 percent -- and that it was equal to environmental causes, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"We were surprised by our findings as we did not expect the importance of environmental factors in autism to be so strong," said study author Avi Reichenberg from the Mount Sinai Seaver Center for Autism Research in New York.
A large study in Sweden has shown that genes are just as important as environmental factors in assessing the causes of autism.
Researchers were surprised to discover that the inheritability of the neurodevelopmental disorder was about 50 percent -- much lower than previous studies that put it at 80-90 percent -- and that it was equal to environmental causes, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"We were surprised by our findings as we did not expect the importance of environmental factors in autism to be so strong," said study author Avi Reichenberg from the Mount Sinai Seaver Center for Autism Research in New York.
