Intresting read. This is from Finland

A startling discovery was made among the patients of the new children's hospital's autism unit - a connection to vitamin D?
93 percent of severely autistic child patients come from families with an immigrant background, says Hus.


JAA

- Some factor causes the risk of autism in the children of those who moved here to Pohjola from elsewhere. This is a significant issue both from a human and public health point of view, which requires further research, says pediatric neurology specialist Mirjami Jolma in the press release.
- Some factor causes the risk of autism in the children of those who moved here to Pohjola from elsewhere. This is a significant issue both from a human and public health point of view, which requires further research, says pediatric neurology specialist Mirjami Jolma in the press release. PHOTO: COLOURBOX

STT
5.1. 13:56
Children with an immigrant background have an increased risk of autism in Finland, according to a recent study . A large proportion of the severely autistic patients in the new children's hospital's autism unit are from an immigrant background, Helsinki University Hospital (Hus) says in its press release.

According to Hus, only seven percent of the severely autistic patients at the Päiväkeskus Vuorella of the New Children's Hospital had both parents born in Finland. However, 90 percent of the patients themselves were born in Finland.

The greatest risk of autism is in children born in Finland to mothers who immigrated to Finland from the Middle East and Africa. According to the study, their risk of getting a severe autism spectrum disorder is about 50 times higher than that of children of native Finnish mothers.

According to Hus, there is no certainty about the cause of the phenomenon.

- Some factor causes the risk of autism in the children of those who moved here to Pohjola from elsewhere. This is a significant issue both from a human and public health point of view, which requires further research, says pediatric neurology specialist Mirjami Jolma in the press release.

One explanation has been put forward for the mother's vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency has previously been found to be common in immigrant women in Finland.

According to Jolma, parenting a severely autistic and developmentally delayed child is challenging, especially in a foreign language and cultural environment. According to Jolma, the families would need support for the situation.

The reason is not a genetic risk related to a single area of ​​origin
In the study, the data of all nearly 500 3- to 6-year-old patients who visited the autism and developmental disorder day center were collected in 2019–2020. The patients' parents were from 75 different countries. According to the study, the background of the high autism risk cannot therefore be a genetic risk related to a single area of ​​origin.

According to Hus, the overrepresentation of children with an immigrant background in the patients of the autism unit is not because they are more susceptible to referrals than others. Children of parents born in Finland have been referred on lighter grounds and at a younger age than children with an immigrant background.

According to Hus, factors related to lack of knowledge of the Finnish language or cultural differences do not explain the phenomenon either. When sent to a day care center at the average age of three, the children typically did not speak or show that they understood any language, the release states.