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April is Autism Awareness Month and will soon be over but one has to ask, why the rate of autism has risen over the last decades. Human genetics is seen as one likely cause but there has to be some underlying factor tied up to it as well.

The environmental changes and society could be contributors to such, something that mothers (past and present) find themselves in.

When one considers environmental factors, there are plenty to mention. Pollution, would be the leading indicator despite the best efforts of government and environmental groups to try and address the issue. In a nutshell, such has made our living environment somehow dangerous and the best measure is to take the necessary precautions as best as we can.

Pregnant women who find themselves to high levels of air pollution find themselves at high risk of bearing autistic kids. A study back in 2014 backs this up and is seen as one major cause.

Though pollution is something that is beyond one’s control, there are also other several factors which are ultimately tied to females. That includes the use of pills which are not limited to birth control kind.

Ideally, doctors would advise pregnant women to shy away from pills as much as possible seeing how the medication could leave dire consequences and side effects that will also be detrimental to the fetus they are carrying.

The food they eat is another aspect seen. Diets are normally handed out by obstetricians and there is a reason for such. In an age where microwave re-heating is booming, such is seen a contributing factor – particularly the radiation microwave ovens produce.

The age of bearing a child has also changed with most finding it better to have kids at an older age. From the usual practice of seeing mothers bear a child at age of 21 (in the 70s), most now wait by their mid-20s which bring higher risks of birth defects.

There is an upcoming study taking place in San Diego, believed to be the largest one tackling autism. The UC San Diego School of Medicine has announced that it will take part in the event as it collects DNA samples from 50,000 autism patients aged 3 to 100.

Karen Pierce, an associate professor of neurosciences at the university will lead her team in seeking and studying participants diagnosed with autism. The study will be also backed by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.

“Autism has a strong genetic component, but there’s a lot of heterogeneity in the genes involved,” said Pierce. “More than 50 genes have been identified that almost certainly play a role in autism, but there may be 300 or more.”