I wanted to point readers interested in autism to news of two new studies linking the use of infertility treatments to increased risk of autism in children, according to an article in the May 20 issue of Time Magazine.
One study, conducted by a team at the Harvard School of Public Health, found that autism was nearly twice as common in the children of women treated with the ovulation-inducing drug called Clomid, or other similar drugs, than in women who did not receive fertility treatment. The study, presented Wednesday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia, said the link persisted even after researchers factored in the women’s age, the article said.
Another paper, presented at the same conference, by an Israeli team, found a connection between autism risk and in vitro fertilization treatments, which involve ovulation-stimulating drugs too, the Time article said.