Identical twinsMICHAEL BLACKBURN
Contrary to decades of prior research, a new study of 192 sets of twins concluded that environmental factors, not genetics, accounts for the majority of the risk associated with autism spectrum disorders. Autism experts roundly criticized the findings, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The data in the study, published online July 4 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, was in line with previous studies: autism concordance rates of 77 percent for identical twins and 31 percent for fraternal twins. Yet when plugged into a statistical computer model to determine contributing roles of genes and the environment, the team concluded that only 38 percent of the risk for autism came from genetics while roughly 58 percent came from the environment shared by the twins.
"Their ...
