Prenatal Opioids Might Not Drive Autism or ADHD Risk
This month both stories are taken from Psychiatrist magazine. I’ve got to be careful on this first one, being dyslexic I can’t see the difference between Prenatal and Parental, and auto correct isn’t going to bale me out. If I get it wrong please indulge me.
A study that tracked over 1.2 million births in Sweden between 2007 and 2018 initially seemed to show that there was an increased risk of children developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) if the mother took opioid painkillers such as morphine or coedine during pregnancy. But when the results were gone over again taking into account parental smoking, psychiatric diagnoses, income, and education; as well as comparison groups, such as siblings or mothers who took opioids before (but not during) pregnancy, the associations virtually disintegrated.
In sibling comparisons, for example, high-dose exposure showed no measurable increase in autism or ADHD.
They state that there may still be a risk from very high or prolonged exposure. But then agaib there is a risk to anyone taking very high doses or prolonged exposure to opioid painkillers.
Source: https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/prenatal-opioids-might-not-drive-autism-adhd-risk/
The second study: Researchers identified four distinct genetic and clinical subtypes of autism, paving the way for more precise diagnoses and personalized treatments.
These classes encompass common co-occurring conditions as well, such as ADHD, anxiety, and developmental delays.
- Social and Behavioral Challenges, (37% of the study participants). These include individuals who experience notable social and behavioral challenges, elevated rates of ADHD and anxiety, but without significant developmental delays.
- Mixed ASD with Developmental Delay class (19% of the total) exhibit a complex pattern, including high rates of developmental delays, language impairments, and intellectual disabilities. However, these individuals have less pronounced behavioral issues.
- Moderate Challenges (34%), includes those with relatively mild symptoms across most categories.
- Broadly Affected (10%), includes those with severe challenges across nearly every category, including the highest levels of cognitive impairment, developmental delays, and psychiatric conditions.
My concerns?
In the first one – It feels to me that there are people out there that are trying to find something to blame neurodivergence on. In the 1980s there was the claim that vaccines cause autism, which has been thoroughly discredited. Vaccines do not and never did cause autism.
With drugs it is more difficult. It is known that thalidomide taken during pregnancy causes stillbirths and deformities, but I have not seen any conclusive evidence that they cause any neurodiverse condition. With the drugs for epilepsy and bipolar disorder it is the same as for the opioids, it could be the condition that is being treated rather than the drugs that is the cause. I’ll let the scientist fight that one out as there is some disagreement among them.
As for the “four types of autism” report: “The findings suggest autism is not a single condition but a collection of biologically distinct disorders.” says the report. Yes, I agree, but we already knew that. In 2013 the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria was changed from three separate conditions, autism disorder, Asperger’s syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) to one umbrella term of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Yes we know that autism is a mixture of different things, that’s what “spectrum” denotes. So there’s nothing new there.
It is also a very forensic document, concentating on diagnosis and treatments. We need the forensic approach so that we can get the help we need, but there is nothing about our skills or what makes us happy. The sample size of this research is good, at around 5,000 participants. But I find something worrying, The research was carried out by Spark, and Spark is connected with Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks were involved with research into autistic DNA to detect autism during pregnancy. Autism Speaks’ attitude has softened since a change in management in 2015, but there is still suspicion of their motives amongst autistic people, especially where DNA is involved.
In his documentary “Aspergers and Me”, Chris Packham spoke about his diagnosis at 40, about how it affects his life and that he would not change anything. During his trip to the USA as part of the documentary he showed how some institutions are trying to wipe out autism whilst others, particularly NASA and Silicon Valley tech companies are actively recruiting autistic people for their attention to detail, among other qualities.
There are places we excell. With Chris Packham it is knowledge of wildlife, with others it is working in tech. The Spark study feels to me like they’re trying to push us into sterotypes, undoing what has been done by the neurodiversity movement. Who wants to be a stereotype?
Making an ass of myself 