Children of Fathers with Technical Jobs have Higher Risk of Developing Autism Risk: Study

Children, whose fathers work in the technical field, are at a higher risk of developing autism spectrum disorders, a new study finds.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center have found a strong link between father's occupation and children's autism risk.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. People with ASD handle information in their brain differently.  Estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network suggest that one in every 68 children in the U.S. has ASD.

The team used data from the United States government's Standard Occupational Classification system and divided parents in two categories. Fathers with people-oriented jobs were put under non-technical category, while those with non-people oriented jobs were classified as technical.

Data analysis showed that children, whose fathers were engineers, had two times higher risk of developing ASD. Children, whose fathers worked in the finance sector, had four times higher chance of developing the condition, while those with fathers in the healthcare profession had six times higher risk.

Mothers' occupation was not related to the ASD diagnosis. However, when both parents were in technical fields, there was a higher risk of the child developing a severe form of the condition.

"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," said Aisha S. Dickerson, Ph.D., a researcher at UTHealth's Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, according to a news release.

The study was presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.