Children of fathers who are in technical occupations are more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder, a new study has found.
Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston divided parents into those who had more non-people-oriented jobs (technical) or more people-oriented jobs (non-technical).
Fathers who worked in engineering were two times as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
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There was no association with a mother's occupation. However, children who had both parents in technical fields were at a higher risk of having a more severe form of autism.
"Parental occupation could be indicative of autistic-like behaviours 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, a researcher at UT Health's Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences.
The findings will be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta.