What? It wasn't video games?
High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
51–60 of 190 posts
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#52> However, the team cautioned that these findings cannot and should not be used to screen for autism. "We are interested in understanding autism, not preventing it," added Professor Baron-Cohen. I don't understand why not?
It's unclear which "not" you're addressing —
"should not be used to screen for autism" — They have identified a statistically-valid link between estrogen levels and autism, and are worried that parents will say "I have high estrogen levels, I'd better terminate my pregnancy and try again". Sadly, some parents will.
"not preventing [autism]" — Imagine that autism is what makes hermits (such as Merlin the Wizard) valuable to nearby towns. The towns bring the hermit food and build a house to keep them all far apart, because the hermit is incredibly strange and doesn't care about people's feelings — but also can solve any problem and always seems to be coming up with ways to make everyone's life better.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if birth control (which spikes estrogen) has a lasting impact on levels after a mom goes off to have a child.
I'm wondering that as well, could be an unintended side effect of some forms of hormonal birth control.
There is some precedent for the opposite in biological males one hazard of androgen doping is a drop off in natural production. While a similar feedback mechanism may exist there is no guarantee.
I am uncertain what influence multiple pregnancies has on estrogen levels - let alone how comparable birth control is but that could offer a hint.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#54Maybe so, though equally could just be a small part in a larger puzzle or even a red herring. However, as somebody who is on the autistic spectrum, I have noted that my index and "ring finger"[edit thanks to comment] are of equal lengths, a trait more common in females than males who tend to have one longer - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit_ratio Another aspect/theory from personal experience is that my earli…
That digit ratio stuff has always weirded me out. There are even some studies that show certain ratios correspond with homosexuality. That wikipedia page even has a huge table with a list of stuff like having a high digit ratio corresponds to reduced financial trading ability, and a low digit ratio corresponds to a longer penis. That shit is weird.
People tend to forget just how important hormones can be and just assume everything is because of genes.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#55BPA mimics estrogen, so does that mean that plastics are causing autism? https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/...
I wonder if birth control (which spikes estrogen) has a lasting impact on levels after a mom goes off to have a child.
What forms of birth control spike estrogen? My understanding was that it worked by suppressing the natural estrogen spike that triggers ovulation.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting, I had no idea the rate was so high. I’ve seen one study[1] that sampled for ~7%, but not 25%. Do you have a link I could read? [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2904453/
Interesting, even at 7%, this autistic population could be creating the unfavorable perceptions of trans women and confirming people’s pre-existing beliefs of mental health issues because enough of their quirky or negative experiences with trans women are “just” with autistic people As in, one circumstance is being conflated with another circumstance and this is counterproductive for everyone
On the other hand what if it's not just conflated circumstances and there is some kind of interaction there. When there is an unusually large correlation between two unexpected things it normally merits further investigation.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#57Would be interesting to see what causes high estrogen in the studied women. My guess would be obesity, and potentially plant-based diet high in soy products.
>In Florida, a wildlife biologist wonders why alligator eggs are failing to hatch, and why so many male alligators have abnormally small phalluses.
>In Denmark, an endocrinologist finds that sperm counts in men have fallen drastically worldwide during the past five decades while the number of testicular cancers has tripled.
>In Boston, a cell biologist can't figure out why her experiments with breast cancer cells have suddenly stopped working.
>These disparate observations may seem unrelated, but a growing number of researchers suspect they are part of an emerging global problem. Scientists know that certain industrial compounds, pesticides and plastics that mimic the female hormone estrogen are making their way into food and water supplies. The concern is that these estrogen-like pollutants may be causing turmoil in human and animal reproductive systems.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if birth control (which spikes estrogen) has a lasting impact on levels after a mom goes off to have a child.
What forms of birth control spike estrogen? My understanding was that it worked by suppressing the natural estrogen spike that triggers ovulation.
"spiking estrogen" is how birth control, birth controls.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#59Would be interesting to see what causes high estrogen in the studied women. My guess would be obesity, and potentially plant-based diet high in soy products.
I think the soy idea has been debunked for some time now. The main external estrogen source is milk and to some extend meat products.
Fake news! Soy has orders of magnitude more estrogen than animal products, even the hormone-implanted ones.
> The 1.9 nanograms of estrogen in implanted beef is also minuscule compared to 225 nanograms of estrogen in potatoes, 340 nanograms of estrogen in peas, 520 nanograms of estrogen in ice cream, 2,000 nanograms of estrogen in cabbage, 11,250 nanograms of estrogen in soy milk, and 170,000 nanograms of estrogen in soybean oil… all based on a 3 ounce serving size. One birth control pill contains 35,000 nanograms of estrogen.
Re: High levels of oestrogens in the womb linked to autism
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find that difficult to believe. Estrogen isn't known to cause large behavioral changes like you've described. The changes in hormones can result in some emotional changes, but I cannot see how they would reduce symptoms of autism.
Symptoms of being a high-functioning autistic—as perceived by others—include an inability to empathize with peers or with hypotheticals of “natural” human responses. But one obvious confounder for this symptom is that you’re comparing with the wrong peers. Being a woman but not liking the things women like or having the same emotional responses that women tend to have (because, instead, you like the things men like a…
So now men and women have inherently different interests and emotional responses that should result in not only misdiagnosis of autism, but actual diagnosis of gender dysphoria?