Study links autism with first trimester ultrasounds

Researchers from the University of Washington and the Seattle Children's Research Institute have discovered a link between the severity of autism and ultrasounds performed in the first trimester.

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The study appears in the journal Autism Research and reads, in part, "We found that male children with ASD, copy number variations (CNVs) and exposure to first trimester ultrasound had significantly decreased non-verbal IQ and increased repetitive behaviors relative to male children with ASD, with CNVs, and no ultrasound."

No such connection was found with ultrasounds performed in the second and third trimesters.

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In arriving at their conclusion, researchers examined data on over 2,600 families that was gathered by the Simons Simplex Collection autism genetic repository.

Sarah Webb, the study's lead author and an expert in behavioral sciences and psychiatry, stressed that the results do not indicate that ultrasounds are a cause of autism.

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